May 22, 2003

Senators Smith, Feinstein Introduce National Cancer Act

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced they have re-introduced legislation to address financial needs related to cancer research, access to care, quality of care, and cancer prevention.

The bill represents a comprehensive national battle plan to modernize and re-energize the war on cancer. Although little progress has been made in reducing the incidence of cancer, advances from research are producing new, more effective treatments, thus improving mortality rates. A good example of such research advancements is Gleevec, developed by Dr. Brian Druker of Oregon Health and Sciences University. Gleevec is a groundbreaking oral treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) - a rare, life-threatening form of cancer. It is a targeted therapy based on knowledge gained from research in genomics.

"Cancer is the number two killer in Oregon and it will soon be the number one killer as it passes heart disease," Smith said. "This is a disease we must cure, and we must use every possible resource and pursue any reasonable method."

Specifically, the National Cancer Act includes provisions which:

  • Provide $100 million per year for new National Cancer Institute grants for work that moves promising new drugs from the research bench to the bedside.
  • Authorize $100 million per year under the Health Resources & Services Administration to attract and train health care professionals who commit to providing cancer care, especially in under-served communities.
  • Fund state cancer plans.

"Behind all the discouraging statistics there are human faces, families, and a lot of suffering; however, there is also a lot of hope for the work that we are doing today," said Smith. "This bill is a big step towards developing more effective treatments and providing better care."

The legislation is based on the recommendations included in a report of the National Cancer Legislation Advisory Committee (NCLAC) which consists of scientists, cancer survivors, patient advocates, health providers, not-for-profit leaders, and biotechnology executives. Senators Smith and Feinstein previously introduced the National Cancer Act in 2002.

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