Pryce Receives “Champion of Women’s Health Award”from Health Care Advocacy Groups

June 12, 2008

Pryce’s Pediatric Cancer Bill Clears the House

The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act Ramps up Federal Investment in Childhood Cancer Research and Education

Washington , DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1553, legislation authored by Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (OH-15) to dramatically increase federal investment in childhood cancer research. Companion legislation (S. 911), sponsored by Jack Reed (D-RI), cleared the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in November of 2007.

“For far too long, children suffering from pediatric cancer have gotten short shrift on federal resources,” said Pryce upon passage. “The bill we passed today dramatically expands federal investment in childhood cancer research and education, and will make an historic difference in the lives of the more than 12,000 children who will be diagnosed with cancer each year. A nation with our resources, our scientists, our committed doctors and oncologists, and our inherent and insuppressible fighting spirit can and should do more to put an end to so much suffering.”

Among other things, the bill authorizes $30 million annually over five years to hasten advancements in pediatric cancer research. It creates a national database on childhood cancers to help researchers detect trends in the disease, and provides educational and informational services to patients and families to ensure they have access to appropriate clinical treatment and the array of vital support services. During markup of the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the legislation was renamed the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008, at the behest of Committee Member Darlene Hooley (OR-5), in honor of Pryce’s daughter, Caroline, who lost her valiant battle against neuroblastoma in 1999 at the age of nine.

Pryce added, “Cancer is no longer the mystery it once was. The scientific and medical communities continue to crash through barriers, to unlock cancer’s secrets, and to cut this opponent down to size. More so than ever before, there is unprecedented optimism and growing momentum in our belief that we can eradicate the disease, and spare future generations of children from having to endure the misery that cancer brings. This bill brings us one step closer to that universally shared objective.”

Thanks, in no small part, to increased awareness and advocacy, a diagnosis of pediatric cancer is no longer the death sentence it once was. While the incidence of cancer in children has increased slightly over the past 30 years, the mortality rate has declined dramatically for many childhood cancers. The combined 5-year survival rates for all childhood cancers improved from 56% in the 1970s to 79% in the 1990s. Similarly, just 50 years ago, pediatric cancer cure rates sat at 10%; today, they are at nearly 80%.

“The passage of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 is a critical step we must take in order to ensure our children and adolescents get the care they need to beat cancer,” said Lance Armstrong, Chairman and Founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. “I am hopeful the Senate will follow the House’s lead and vote to improve the diagnosis, treatment and survivorship of America’s youth suffering from cancer.”

CureSearch – the world’s largest childhood cancer research organization comprised of the Children's Oncology Group and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation—also applauded the House’s efforts. "Despite decades of significant research progress, cancer remains the number one cause of death by disease in children. Every school day, 46 children, or two classrooms of students, are diagnosed with cancer in this country,” said Stacy Pagos Haller, Executive Director of the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation.

“Each day that childhood cancer goes under-funded, the road to discovering new treatments and cures becomes longer and more children die,” Pagos Haller added. “The loss of even one more child is one too many. We are especially grateful to Congresswoman Pryce, and to the House leadership from both parties. Passage of the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act will have a positive impact on children, now and in future generations.”

Pryce is a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the House Cancer Caucus. She is the author of the Compassionate Care for Children Act and the Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act. In 2006, Pryce was awarded the Distinguished Advocacy Award from the American Cancer Society (ACS) – the ACS’s highest honor --for her efforts and advocacy in the fight against cancer. In 2006, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital honored Pryce with membership into The James Leadership Society, the highest recognition bestowed on supporters of the hospital.

Important Facts About Childhood Cancer
Source: American Cancer Society’s Facts and Statistics

An estimated 12,400 children and young people will be diagnosed with cancer in the year 2007. 2,300 children will die from it.
Each and every school day 46 children, or more than two full classrooms of kids, will be diagnosed with cancer.
On the average, one in every four elementary schools has a child with cancer. The average high school has two students who are current or former cancer patients.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in children under 15.
One of every 330 persons in the United States will develop cancer before their 20th birthday.
The median age of cancer diagnosis in children is six meaning that an entire lifetime is at risk.
The cause of most childhood cancers are unknown. At present, childhood cancer cannot be prevented.
Childhood cancer occurs regularly, randomly and spares no social, economic or ethnic groups.
Despite the advances in early detection and treatment, only two thirds of children diagnosed with cancer survive. Even though the majority of children's leukemias are now curable, mortality is still substantial among children with solid tumors.
In the United States, the incidence of cancer is increasing among adolescents and young adults at a greater rate than in any other age group, except those older than 65 years. The cause of this increase is unknown at present.
When you compare the federal research support allocated to each patient affiliated with AIDS, a child diagnosed with cancer is getting only one-sixth of it for every year of life saved. For every dollar spent on a patient with prostate cancer, less than 20 cents is spent on a child with cancer. Likewise a patient with breast cancer has triple the research resource allocated to her when compared to a child.
Knowledge about cancer can relieve anxiety, build trust, and streamline health-care delivery. However, information about treatment options, current and long-term follow up results are not easily available for pediatric patients, their parents, health-care professionals, insurance companies and the general public.
Survivors of childhood cancer can lead productive and fulfilling lives.

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