American Association for Cancer Research to Host Congressional Briefing on Cancer Progress
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Leaders of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), prominent scientists, and cancer survivors, including two members of Congress, will address congressional staffers on cancer research progress Thursday, March 13, 2014, at noon ET in Room B-339, Rayburn Office Building.
The briefing, “Making Research Count for Patients: A Continual Pursuit,” will showcase the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2013, which highlights the remarkable progress that investments in cancer research and biomedical science made for cancer patients and survivors in 2013. The report also urges policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to intensify their efforts in supporting cancer research and biomedical science.
“The AACR is proud to be hosting this briefing about the extraordinary progress being made in cancer research today, as evidenced by the more than 14 million cancer survivors in the U.S., much of which was made possible by our country’s longstanding support of medical research at the National Institutes of Health [NIH] and the National Cancer Institute [NCI],” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Despite today’s remarkable advances, cancer remains a significant problem. This year alone, more than 1.6 million Americans will receive a cancer diagnosis, and more than 580,000 will die from the disease. Our work is far from finished, and we need to ensure that the NIH and the NCI are funded at levels that will ensure their ability to make more lifesaving progress. Cancer patients here and around the world are in desperate need of this commitment.”
In addition to Dr. Foti, the AACR will welcome the following speakers to the briefing:
- The Honorable Mike Fitzpatrick, U.S. representative, Eighth District, State of Pennsylvania
- The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. representative, 23rd District, State of Florida
- Charles L. Sawyers, M.D., president of the American Association for Cancer Research and chairman of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Stephen Schuster, M.D., director of the Lymphoma Program at the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
- Hans Loland, chronic myelogenous leukemia survivor
- Crystal Mackall, M.D., chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch and Immunology Section Head, NCI
AACR News 
Reblogged this on Terry's Cupboard and commented:
The fact that over 580,000 Americans will die from cancer this year, and over 1.6 million will get a diagnosis, means that the mortality rate on average is one in three. This is a frightening statistic in spite of the major advances made in diagnosis and treatment. One in six men now, will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in Canada, and the Ontario Government for example, has researched through a focus group of experts, the disease pathway management (DPM) system. Policy recommendations have followed from this experience as to how low grade, intermediate grade, and high grade prostate cancers are detected and treated. These have recently been communicated to hospital physicians.