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140 Illinois Cancer Advocates Join Thousands in Nation's Capital to Support Federal Investment in Cancer Research and Programs

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 September 2006, 00:00 CDT

CHICAGO, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 10,000 cancer patients, survivors and their families from every Congressional district in the country are gathering today on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for Celebration on the Hill 2006. It's a day-long nationwide grassroots event celebrating cancer survivorship and empowering cancer advocates to push for laws that will help fight the disease.

Representing Illinois at the event are 140 Celebration ambassadors selected to carry the message to lawmakers that government plays a critical role in the fight against cancer.

"Illinois' cancer advocates are in the nation's capital to make a strong statement about the importance of the government's role in the cancer battle," said Dr. Ermilo Barrera, president of the American Cancer Society's Illinois Division. "Without the support of the Illinois Congressional delegation for cancer research and programs, the war on cancer will not be won."

Nearly 4,000 ambassadors from every Congressional district in the country are meeting with lawmakers throughout the day. Celebration on the Hill, which is sponsored by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network(SM) (ACS CAN), is calling nationwide attention to the critical need for government support of cancer research and lifesaving cancer prevention and early detection programs.

In recent years, Congress has frozen or cut funding for medical research and lifesaving federal detection and treatment programs. Last fall, Congress cut the federal funding of the National Institutes of Health for the first time in 35 years and of cancer programs for the first time in a decade. Additional cuts have been proposed this year, jeopardizing the enormous progress that has been made in detecting and treating cancer.

Celebration ambassadors are asking lawmakers to: -- Sign ACS CAN's Congressional Cancer Promise, which outlines specific legislative proposals to elevate prevention, early detection and survivorship, increase the nation's commitment to research, and expand access to care -- Boost federal funding for cancer research and programs at the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute -- Invest in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women access to lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screening tests

Celebration on the Hill also features the Relay For Life Wall of Hope, a national monument to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. It is constructed from 5,000 banners that originated at Relay events across the country -- including 148 banners from Illinois -- and includes several hundred thousand signatures and messages of support from volunteers nationwide. If laid end-to-end, the banners would rise to a height 85 times that of the Washington Monument. The Wall serves to personalize the fight against cancer while expressing volunteer support for ACS CAN's advocacy efforts at all levels of government.

Throughout the day today, Celebration participants will walk laps around the Capitol Reflecting Pool. At dusk, the Capitol Reflecting Pool will be lit up by an estimated 20,000 luminaria memorializing those who have lost their battle with cancer and honoring cancer survivors.

First held in 2002, Celebration on the Hill raised the awareness of cancer issues among policymakers everywhere. The goals of Celebration on the Hill 2006, the second such event, are to elevate cancer as a top national priority and encourage lawmakers to support policies that will get the nation back on track toward meeting the national challenge goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by the year 2015.

ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan sister advocacy organization of the American Cancer Society. ACS CAN is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major public health problem through issue campaigns and voter education aimed at influencing candidates and lawmakers to support laws and policies that will help people fight cancer. ACS CAN does not endorse candidates and is not a political action committee (PAC). For more information, visit http://www.acscan.org/ .

American Cancer Society

CONTACT: Jennifer Resnik of American Cancer Society, +1-312-279-7362,Day of, +1-773-368-3686, jennifer.resnik@cancer.org

Web site: http://www.acscan.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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