WASHINGTON, D.C. -- May 2, 2008 -- Nearly 7 in 10 voters believe Congress and the White House should boost the federal investment in cancer research and early detection programs following five straight years of frozen or cut funding, and nearly 9 in 10 voters support a dedicated cancer fund within the federal budget to help restore cancer funding to its necessary levels, according to a national poll released today.
The poll, conducted for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), shows that 69 percent of voters believe cancer funding should be increased following years of stagnant funding for the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute and cancer control programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same percentage of voters said cancer should be a "top" or "high" priority of the federal government.
In the poll, 87 percent of voters supported the creation of a special cancer fund within the federal budget to concentrate on cutting-edge research projects and prevention and early detection programs. A clear majority (60 percent) of those surveyed said they would be more likely to support their Member of Congress for re-election if he/she voted to create a special cancer fund.
"Americans are clearly dissatisfied with the government's lack of commitment to the war on cancer, which has resulted in frozen or cut funding for five years running," said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN, the advocacy partner of the American Cancer Society. "We need a new approach to ensure that cancer research projects and prevention and early detection programs are funded at the levels necessary to win the war on cancer."
ACS CAN is urging Congress to create a National Cancer Fund that would provide a dedicated source of funding for the fight against cancer. The fund would fundamentally change the way cancer research and programs are paid for, directing money to innovative projects that advance the war on cancer and address the continuum of cancer care -- prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative care.
ACS CAN is also launching a six-month, 48-state bus tour from Cleveland, Ohio on May 4 to build support for a National Cancer Fund and to highlight the crucial role elected officials play in supporting laws and policies that help people fight cancer. The ACS CAN Fight Back Express will be on the road through Election Day, educating the public, lawmakers and candidates about the importance of government's role in defeating cancer.
Cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and their families will gather for rallies at bus stops, calling attention to the need to make dramatic changes in this country's approach to cancer. Advocates also will share their stories with their Members of Congress through the Picture A Cure program and sign a petition to support access to quality health care for all Americans.
"As an essential partner in the fight against cancer, government has a critical role to play in enacting laws and policies that help people battle a disease that will kill an estimated 565,650 people in America this year," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ACS CAN. "The ACS CAN Fight Back Express will gather people touched by cancer to challenge elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority."
The bus tour comes on the heels of a major public education campaign by ACS CAN and the American Cancer Society to raise awareness about the critical need for access to quality health care for all Americans. For more information about the ACS CAN Fight Back Express, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
A National Cancer Fund would advance the effort to expand access to quality health care by
- Bolstering efforts to discover prevention and early detection tools for the most deadly cancers, such as pancreatic and ovarian cancer
- Expanding federal programs such as the CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which has enough funding to cover only 1 in 5 eligible low-income, uninsured, or underinsured women
- Establishing a similar program to give the medically underserved access to colon cancer screenings
- Expediting transitional research to help bring new scientific discoveries from the bench to the bedside
The ACS CAN poll released today shows that voters strongly support expanding access to prevention and early detection measures, and bolstering cancer research such as that to discover prevention and early detection tools that do not yet exist for the most deadly cancers. Three in four voters (76%) rank these priorities as extremely or very urgent in the fight against cancer.
ACS CAN is exploring several options to pay for the National Cancer Fund, including federally-issued "cancer bonds" and increases in the federal tobacco tax. In the poll, large majorities of voters supported issuing federal cancer bonds (79 percent) or increasing the federal tobacco tax (73 percent) to pay for a cancer fund.
The poll was conducted April 18-25 among 1,015 registered voters nationwide by Lake Research Partners.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy partner of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss
Phone: (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected]
Alissa Havens
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]
