Conquer Childhood Cancer Act Signed into Law by President
Dedicated work of Children’s Cancer Research Fund’s Chief Medical Advisor instrumental in passing of Act.
MINNEAPOLIS — July 29, 2008 — Today, President George Bush signed into law the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. The bill provides $30 million per year through 2013 to establish special programs of research excellence in the area of pediatric cancers; create a national childhood cancer database; and increase information support for families affected by childhood cancer.
“The passage of this bill is a monumental step in the fight against childhood cancer,” Senator Norm Coleman, a co-sponsor of the bill said. “After more than two years of pushing the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act through Congress, I am proud that my colleagues were able to come together and pass legislation that will provide the resources to not only support children and families with childhood cancer, but also find a cure.”
Children's Cancer Research Fund's Chief Medical Advisor, Julie Ross, Ph.D., director of pediatric cancer epidemiology and clinical research at the University of Minnesota, and associate director of population sciences for the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, testified October 26, 2007, before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in support of the Childhood Cancer Research Network, part of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act.
“I have been actively working for many years with others on developing a national nearly population-based registry affiliated with the Children's Oncology Group called the Childhood Cancer Research Network,” Ross said. “We intend to build on and enhance the current registration system in the Children's Oncology Group by obtaining informed consent from parents (and patients if age eligible) to allow researchers to access data within weeks of a child's diagnosis, rather than the years it can take with the current system.”
More than 12,000 American children are diagnosed with cancer each year and more than 2000 will succumb to this devastating disease. In Minnesota, about 160 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer and about 25 children die of cancer each year.
“We are on the cusp of finding some important answers to what causes childhood cancer and also to help ameliorate the potential long-term side effects of treatment,” Ross said. “We need the Childhood Cancer Research Network and the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act to best accomplish these goals.”