This excerpt is from an article appearing on The Gazette entitled, “Cancer in Iowa: Here’s how Iowans are battling the state’s dire cancer rates,” written by Brittney J. Miller.

Scott Kaas holds his daughter Devyn, age 15 months, while they await blood test results during an appointment at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City on March 1. Scott spent 20 years working with the American Childhood Cancer Organization’s “What About Kids?” research initiative before his daughter was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer last year. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Scott Kaas, 52, has been involved with the American Childhood Cancer Organization’s “What About Kids?” research initiative for two decades. He has talked with legislators around Iowa — including Gov. Kim Reynolds — trying to push for more funding for pediatric cancer research.

His life changed when his daughter Devyn was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at 7 months old last year. After five rounds of chemotherapy, she gets to live at home again. Her appetite has returned. Her hair is finally starting to grow. And, last month, her family received good news: She’s in remission.

Scott’s work, though, hasn’t stopped. As Iowa coordinator for the “What About Kids?” initiative, he sends emails to Iowa legislators every day, urging consideration of policies that support cancer prevention and research. He has even invited state officials to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital — where his daughter was treated — for a tour.

Brooke Kaas holds her 14-month-old daughter Devyn at the Kaas’ home in Cedar Rapids on Feb. 14. Devyn, now 15 months old, is in remission after months of treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

But many of the cancer-related bills he was pushing for didn’t even survive this legislative session’s first funnel deadline. “Your request is on the list of the millions of dollars that have been requested by numerous groups,” Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, chair of the Iowa House’s Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote in an email response to Scott Kaas advocating for more funding for pediatric cancer research.

The lack of urgency is frustrating, Kaas said. “It might take three years to find a cure for one type of cancer, or a drug that helps change a treatment plan,” he said. “The more time they take dragging their feet to pass these bills… We could lose some kids. It’s tough.”

With an opponent as invasive and alarming as cancer, it’s easy to feel powerless. But people like Kaas and Streit have found their weapons — and their voices — through advocacy.

Devyn Kaas crawls across the floor at the Kaas’ home in Cedar Rapids on Feb. 14. Last year, when she was 7 months old, Devyn was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Last month her family learned Devyn is in remission. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Advocacy starts with education: Learn more about cancer risks and prevention efforts, sources told The Gazette, and have conversations with your loved ones about it. Anyone can contact their local legislators to express their support for or opposition to an issue, and registered voters can vote for legislators who best represent their values and priorities.

Anyone can be a cancer advocate, said the Cancer Support Community, a global nonprofit with 190 locations that deliver free support and navigation services to patients and families.

“Devyn will be a voter one day,” Kaas said. “It matters that our state government cares about (cancer) and does something about it — not just for us, but to prevent it for themselves and their family.”