Pryce Joins Pediatric Cancer Patients, Survivors and Families to Promote Childhood Cancer Funding, Awareness

June 26, 2007

Pediatric Cancer Rally Focuses on Pryce’s Pediatric Cancer Research Funding Legislation

Washington , DC – Today, Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Columbus) united with children with pediatric cancer from all across America at an annual rally in Washington to raise awareness of the funding imperatives for childhood cancer research. Thousands of people, including child cancer patients and survivors, their families and friends, as well as health care professionals, oncologists, and cancer advocates from 35 states took to Capitol Hill to advocate for greater federal resources in the fight against pediatric cancer.

This year’s rally was entitled, Reach the Day: Conquer Childhood Cancer, and was sponsored by CureSearch – the advocacy arm of Children's Oncology Group (COG), the world's largest cooperative cancer research organization. Central to this year’s event was the promotion of the Pryce-authored Conquer Childhood Cancer Act – bipartisan legislation introduced in March to increase federal funding and support for pediatric oncology research.

Said Pryce about her legislation, “This bill targets federal resources and research against the cancers afflicting children nationwide, and elevates our nation’s prioritization of pediatric cancer through additional funding, improved treatment, and more centralized, accessible information for patients and their families. And as the family of any child with cancer knows, accessible information about the disease and treatment options is a critical ingredient in negating some of the tremendous fear and uncertainty that comes with learning that your child has cancer. Families must focus all their energies on healing – and our bill helps them do that.”

“Most importantly, the bill authorizes $150 million for pediatric cancer research over the next five years – funding that is absolutely critical if we are to continue to make progress in our understanding and treatment of the disease.”

Amid shrinking federal budgets, federal funding levels for pediatric cancer research continue to drop, putting critically important pediatric clinical trials at risk. As a result, it has been suggested that 20 studies will be put on hold and enrollment will decrease in new clinical trials by more than 400 children -- threatening to negate the tremendous strides researchers have made toward eradicating the disease.

“Forty years ago, the survival rate for most childhood cancers was less than 10%,” Pryce said. “Today, 78% of all childhood cancer patients are said to be cured. Much of our dramatic success in fighting pediatric cancer results from the widespread use of pediatric cancer clinical trials, and today the vast majority of children with cancer are enrolled in them. They are the key to unlocking the cure for cancer, and federal support for them must be a priority.”

Pryce is Co-Chair of the House Cancer Caucus, and has authored the Access to Cancer Therapies Act, the Compassionate Care for Children Act, and the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. She is the recipient of the Congressional Leadership Award by the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers (ADCC), is a Member of the James Leadership Society of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and was awarded the Distinguished Advocacy Award from the American Cancer Society (ACS) – the ACS’s highest honor.

About The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007:

Authorization of Appropriations: $30 million annually for 5-fiscal year period.
Centers of Excellence for Childhood Cancer Research: This legislation enhances and expands biomedical research programs in childhood cancer through an existing National Cancer Institute-designated multi-center national infrastructure.
Childhood Cancer Clinical Research Fellowship Program: The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act establishes a new fellowship program through the National Institutes of Health to help foster the training and development of a new generation of clinical investigators focused on pediatric cancer research.
National Childhood Cancer Research Database: It will establish a population-based childhood cancer database to evaluate the incidence trends of childhood cancers and to enable the investigations of genetic epidemiology in order to identify causes to aid in development and implementation of prevention and treatment strategies.
Outreach and Education for Pediatric Cancer Patients and Families: In addition, the legislation provides for education and information services to patients and families affected by childhood cancer to ensure they are aware of and have access to appropriate clinical treatment as well as the array of needed support services.

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