SEPTEMBER is CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
- cancer in children is on the rise
- cancer digs it’s claws into 1 out of 285 U.S. children before the age of 20
- cancer is the #1 disease killer of children in U.S.
- only 1 drug has been developed expressly for children since 1980
*these statistics from ACS should have everyone shaking in their boots & moving to action
NEWSFLASH from last week on The Hill in D.C.!
- political parties were (mostly) harmonious
- the childhood cancer community stormed The Hill
It all kicked off on Thursday with CLF & team hosting “a golden toast” honoring Congressman Michael McCaul & Congressman Chris Van Hollen, thanking them for championing the Congressional Childhood cancer Caucus!!
Early the next morning we were off to the Summit!
We heard from Dr. Francis Collins, Director of The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and from Dr. Amrit Ray, Chief Medical Officer of Johnson & Johnson. They both shared their commitment to the needs of the childhood cancer community.
Congressmen Michael McCaul & Chris Van Hollen kicked off The 5th Annual Congressional Childhood Cancer Summit! And Congressman McCaul thanked Annette for hosting “a golden toast”and shared what Carson’s book Carry Me means to him!
Then we were off to The White House hearing from Dr. Harold Varmus, the Director of the National Cancer Institute; he announced a new appointment to serve NCI & to advocate for the childhood cancer community, Dr. Gregory J. Aune, MD, PhD. He is a childhood cancer survivor, pediatric oncologist, lives in Texas, perfectly suited for this position + just so happens to be a friend 🙂
Our week in D.C. was full of late night dinners, receptions, roundtable discussions. We were heard, progress was made–
But those of us who’ve looked deep into the eyes of a child sick with cancer along with ACS staggering childhood cancer statistics we know there’s SO MUCH to be done—