February 6, 2019 – Washington, D.C. – The American Childhood Cancer Organization (ACCO) today released the following statement from CEO Ruth Hoffman on President Trump’s State of the Union pledge to include $500 million in the budget for increased funding for childhood cancer treatments.
“American Childhood Cancer Organization’s (ACCO) Gold Ribbon Hero and Amazon + ACCO’s 2018 Ambassador Grace Eline attended the State of the Union at the U.S. Capitol last night as a guest of the White House. Her attendance and recognition demonstrates the growing awareness of childhood cancer as a child health priority in the U.S. and around the world.
Cancer is the number one disease killer of children in the U.S. and the majority of childhood cancers have not seen new therapies in decades. As a result, young patients often endure toxic treatments that were primarily developed in the 1960’s, ’70’s and ’80’s or face a devastating lack of treatment options at all. The President’s pledge for increased funding specifically aimed at improving the treatments available to young patients is critical to growing survival numbers and enhancing quality of life for our nation’s youngest cancer fighters.
The President also expressed an intention to protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Three out of five pediatric cancer survivors will suffer long-term effects of their treatment including diabetes, secondary cancers and organ failure. We hope that the Administration and Congress will work together to support young cancer patients now and protect their access to health care as they age.
We are heartened by the President’s commitments to pediatric cancer expressed during last night’s State of the Union address. We encourage Congress and the Executive Branch to work together to support kids like Grace now and improve their chances for long and healthy lives in the future. ACCO looks forward to providing continued leadership in this process.”
About the American Childhood Cancer Organization
As the oldest and largest grassroots childhood cancer organization in the U.S. and the only U.S. member of Childhood Cancer International, ACCO is dedicated to fighting cancer, the number one non-communicable disease killer of children in the U.S. and around the world.
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