Candidates to speak August 27-28 at national forum hosted by Lance Armstrong Foundation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 23, 2007
CONTACT:
Jenny Heumann, 703-519-1427
Lindsay Strug, 703-299-1085
On August 27 and 28, presidential candidates will tell the U.S. people how they plan to make cancer care a priority at a national cancer forum hosted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and MSNBC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a supporting organization of the LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum, which aims to make cancer part of the national dialogue by asking the presidential candidates to go on the record with their plans to fight cancer.
Six Democratic and Republican candidates have confirmed their attendance in the Forum, which will be streamed live on MSNBC.com, and aired on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC.
ASCO advocates that presidential candidates and other leaders address several critical issues in order to improve the quality of cancer care for Americans, including:
• Increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to advance cancer research.
• Improving access to quality care for patients with cancer.
• Improving access to clinical trials for patients who wish to participate.
• Addressing the predicted future shortfalls in the oncology workforce.
• Ensuring that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is equipped and organized to continue progress toward safe and effective treatments.
“Cancer is a complex and difficult disease, and progress against cancer requires a consistent commitment of resources over time,” said Nancy Davidson, MD, ASCO president and director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “ASCO is calling on each candidate who seeks the presidency of the United States to support research and improve access to care to move forward the fight against cancer.”
Quality cancer care begins with support for cancer research. The budgets for NIH and NCI have been flat for four years. When adjusted for inflation, the NIH budget has fallen 13 percent since 2003, and the NCI budget has fallen by a similar amount, according to data from the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index. This is having a serious affect on cancer research.
“By failing to provide adequate funding for cancer research, we put progress at risk,” said Allen S. Lichter, MD, ASCO executive vice president and CEO. “Our primary concern is that we are pulling the plug on exciting new areas of research just when they are starting to bear fruit, and at a time of unprecedented scientific opportunity.”
ASCO leaders will be available to speak to the media about cancer care issues before and after the Presidential Cancer Forum. To arrange an interview, contact Jenny Heumann at ASCO at 703-519-1427 or e-mail heumannj@asco.org.
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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional organization representing physicians of all oncology subspecialties who care for people with cancer. ASCO’s nearly 25,000 members from the United States and abroad set the standard for patient care and lead the efforts to discover more effective cancer treatments, increase funding for clinical and translational research and ultimately, improve cancer care for the estimated 10 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide each year. ASCO publishes the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the preeminent, peer-reviewed medical journal on clinical cancer research and produces People Living With Cancer (www.plwc.org), a comprehensive consumer Web site providing oncologist-vetted cancer information to help patients and families make informed health care decisions.
