Donna Guinn Kaufman
May 20, 2011 — Local cancer advocate Donna Guinn Kaufman, Woodbridge, Va., a volunteer from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will join cancer patients, survivors, caregivers and researchers from 18 other national cancer organizations in Washington, D.C., this week to urge lawmakers to increase funding for critical cancer research and prevention programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies. A total of nearly 100 volunteers are uniting as part of an effort by One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC), a coalition of more than 40 groups dedicated to making cancer research funding a top priority.
“There are nearly 12 million cancer survivors in America today, thanks to past investment in research. But 1,500 people in America still die every day from this disease,” said Donna Guinn Kaufman. “We are urging Congress to continue to capitalize on federal investments in research that have resulted in the dramatic progress we have seen during the past 40 years against cancer.”
Now in its 12th year, the OVAC Lobby Day will take place May 23-24 with more than 150 scheduled meetings with Members of Congress and their staff.
Advocates will be encouraging lawmakers to support funding for:
- The NIH, NCI, and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Ongoing cancer research is on the verge of making great progress in the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer. This progress is in jeopardy absent sustained funding.
- The federal Patient Navigator Program to help cancer patients navigate the health care system and overcome barriers to access cancer care.
- Efforts at the Food and Drug Administration to further integrate cutting-edge science that will streamline the translation of cancer research from early stage discovery to clinical application.
- The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. This funding would support the pediatric cancer programs at NCI, CDC, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Past federal investments have put the scientific community on the verge of making groundbreaking new discoveries that could accelerate our progress and bring us closer to ending death and suffering from cancer,” said Keenan Caldwell, American Cancer Society government relations director for Virginia. “If federal cancer research funding is not sustained, the promise of recent discoveries may never become reality for people with cancer and their families.”
Ms. Kaufman, a breast cancer survivor, has served as an American Caner Society Cancer Action Network volunteer for the past three years. She will be visiting the lawmakers to tell her story of the important role cancer research has played in her life.
Recent polling commissioned by ACS CAN shows that more than three-quarters of the public opposes cutting funding for cancer research (77 percent) and prevention programs (76 percent) as part of the effort to reduce federal spending. Public opposition is strong across party lines – more than 60 percent of Republicans, more than 75 percent of Independents and nearly 90 percent of Democrats are opposed to cuts in cancer funding.
According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that nearly 1.5 million people in America are diagnosed with cancer and more than 560,000 people will die from the disease each year. Federal funding for medical research and cancer prevention programs has had a role in every major advance against this disease, resulting in 350 more lives saved from the disease per day than in 1991.
ACS CAN joins the following health care groups participating in this year’s lobby day: American Academy of Dermatology Association, American Association for Cancer Research, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, Fight Colorectal Cancer, Intercultural Cancer Council Caucus, International Myeloma Foundation, LIVESTRONG, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Men’s Health Network, National Marrow Donor Program, National Patient Advocate Foundation, Oncology Nursing Society, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – PanCAN, Susan G Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance, and Us Too International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate 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 www.acscan.org.
One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC), a coalition of more than 40 national and community-based organizations, collectively represents millions of Americans since it was founded in 2000. OVAC represents researchers, physicians, patients and families and many others – people working together to make funding for cancer research and prevention programs a national priority. For more information visit: www.ovaconline.org.
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For more information, contact:
Domenick Casuccio
Domenick.Casuccio@cancer.org
(804) 527-3735
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