October 7, 2013
|
The Honorable Harry
Reid
|
The Honorable John
Boehner
|
|
The Honorable Mitch
McConnell
|
The Honorable Nancy
Pelosi
|
Dear Majority Leader Reid,
Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader
Pelosi:
The undersigned organizations representing cancer patients,
physicians, pharmacists, and researchers write to urge action to
end the government shutdown without further delay. The federal
government touches our work, lives, and families in countless
ways, and the interruption of government programs and activities
has had a serious effect on cancer survivors, those who care for
them, and researchers. The furloughing of federal employees has
disrupted many vital public-private collaborations in cancer
research and care.
In 1971, this nation
committed itself to a “war on cancer,” and Congress enacted the
National Cancer Act. The central purpose of that law was to
“enlarge the authorities of the National Cancer Institute and the
National Institutes of Health in order to advance the national
effort against cancer.” In the 42 years since approval of the
National Cancer Act, we have realized that strengthening the
national effort against cancer requires not only a vibrant
National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health but
also other, complementary efforts to advance our understanding of
cancer and its causes and to improve treatments for cancer. We
have also made a commitment over the last four decades to enhance
the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, and to respond
to the long-term needs of those who survive cancer.
Research to understand cancer
and its causes and to translate basic research knowledge into new
treatments depends on a biomedical research enterprise in which
public and private sector researchers, including researchers from
industry, collaborate, and research dollars from all sectors are
used to maximum benefit. The development of new treatments also
relies on a robust regulatory system for the review of new
treatments to define the benefits and risks they offer cancer
patients. The shutdown of the federal government has meant an
abrupt halt to many of these activities and called into question
the reliability of the federal government as a research
collaborator going forward.
There are currently almost 14
million Americans living with cancer, and another 1.6 million will
join their ranks in 2013. Over the last four decades, public and
private health care systems have provided care to cancer patients,
and the federal government has played an especially important role
in addressing health care disparities and improving the early
detection of cancer. We have consistently made progress in
preventing cancer, detecting and diagnosing cancer early,
providing quality care from diagnosis, and caring for patients as
they enter long-term survivorship. However, much remains to be
done to guarantee every cancer patient care of the highest
quality. Even the temporary closure of important federal health
agencies has caused the public-private network for cancer care to
be frayed, threatened the quality of the cancer care system, and
called into question the networks of care that include federal
partners.
On behalf of the millions of
Americans living with cancer, those who provide care to them, and
those who are dedicated to research to find treatments and cures,
we urge you to act immediately to end the government shutdown.
Sincerely,
Cancer Leadership Council
American Society for
Radiation Oncology
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
CancerCare
Cancer Support Community
The Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy
College of American Pathologists
Fight Colorectal Cancer
Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association
International Myeloma Foundation
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
LIVESTRONG Foundation
Lymphoma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
National Comprehensive Cancer Network
National Lung Cancer Partnership
National Patient Advocate Foundation
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Sarcoma Foundation of America
Susan G. Komen Advocacy Alliance
Us TOO International
Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network