WASHINGTON – July 6, 2011 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is calling on the White House and congressional leaders to make cancer a top priority as negotiations continue over reducing the federal deficit.

Christopher W. Hansen, president of ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, sent a letter today to President Obama and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate calling on them to maintain the urgency of the fight against cancer, which kills 1,500 people in America each day.

“We know that the deficit talks will require cuts in spending,” Hansen wrote, “but when it comes to deciding what is important, we hope you will agree that a full scale effort against cancer, a disease that kills more than half a million Americans every year, should be priority number one.”

To view the full text of the letter, visit: http://bit.ly/pEVFsY.
 
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: Alissa.Havens@cancer.org or Steve.Weiss@cancer.org

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