Monday, June 21, 2010
For 10th year, CureSearch's 'Reach the Day' Event Brings Hundreds to Washington
Washington – Today and tomorrow hundreds of families of children with cancer are visiting Capitol Hill to ask Congress one question: Where is the research money that was authorized by the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008?
For the last 10 years, the CureSearch for Children's Cancer community has come to Washington seeking more federal funding for children's cancer research to 'Reach the Day' when every child with cancer is guaranteed a cure. Two years ago, they celebrated as Congress passed a bill that held the promise of an additional $30 million per year.
"When Congress passed The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act in 2008, not one member voted against the bill," said Former Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), mother of Caroline Pryce Walker for whom the Act was named, who died at age nine of neuroblastoma. "We applauded the bi-partisan efforts of our leaders, but now we are back to push for full appropriation of this bill."
"Congress has not yet fulfilled the promise it made to these children and their families," said John L. Lehr, President and CEO of CureSearch for Children's Cancer, the foundation that funds and supports the lifesaving, collaborative research of the Children's Oncology Group at more than 230 hospitals nationwide. "The time has come for Congress to appropriate the children's cancer research dollars."
Facts About Children's Cancer
• Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children.
• Each year, nearly 13,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer.
• One out of five children with cancer dies, and three out of five who survive suffer devastating, often life-threatening, long-term side effects.
• Only research cures children's cancer.
ABOUT CURESEARCH FOR CHILDREN'S CANCER
CureSearch for Children's Cancer (www.curesearch.org) funds and supports the lifesaving, collaborative research of the Children's Oncology Group, the world's largest cooperative pediatric cancer research organization, which treats 90% of children with cancer in the United States. By supporting the Children's Oncology Group at more than 230 hospitals in North America and around the world, CureSearch enables children with cancer to receive world-class expertise at a hospital close to home.
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