Our Messages Count!
Under normal circumstances I would refrain from touching on any subject which may appear to be political, but there is nothing normal about cancer - and there is something each one of us can do to make a difference.
You may have heard that the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which includes the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is proposed to decrease in 2008 for the second year in a row. This is unacceptable. Were it not for NIH-supported research, success stories like mine and Mort's - and yours - will not continue to be written as quickly or as successfully.
However, there is good news. The U.S. Senate recently approved an amendment that will add $2.2 billion to the budget for NIH. This effort was led by Senators Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter who is a lymphoma survivor. In addition, 100 House members signed a letter calling for $1.9 billion in additional funds for NIH.
Even more is needed, but this success was directly related to the thousands and thousands of emails that members of Congress received from cancer advocates. Congress is listening, and while we have its attention during the federal budget process, every one of us can make a difference by emailing our senators and representatives and asking them to make cancer a national priority by budgeting necessary funds to help eliminate suffering and death from this disease.
NIH funding is an investment in the future of America, and together we can make a difference by sending that message to Congress.
Betsy