During his State of the Union address last week, the president announced a new initiative to increase funding into promising new research to deliver the right treatments to patients at the right time.

We're grateful that President Obama signed a presidential proclamation naming September National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, focusing national efforts to combat this devastating disease.

I was humbled yesterday to see that President Obama issued a proclamation naming April 2014 Š—“National Cancer Control Month,Š— making the fight against all cancers a national priority.

Getting a colonoscopy is no oneŠ—'s favorite activity. Yet, I am reminded just how important getting a routine colonoscopy is when I see that colon cancer will kill an estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. this year.

Our children face two major challenges in America today: Too many children lack access to high-quality early education that can give them a strong start in life, and too many kids still smoke, which puts them on a path to serious disease and premature death.

President Obama released his budget proposal today for the fiscal year beginning in October, and it included something cancer advocates everywhere are excited about a proposed increase in the federal cigarette tax of 94 cents a pack and significant tax increases on other tobacco products.

Undoubtedly you saw the countdowns on your local news stations Š—– sequestration took effect on Friday. Sequestration is what Washington is calling the $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts to domestic and defense discretionary spending agreed upon in the 2011 Budget Control Act. While a lot remains unknown about how the cuts will affect us, we know one thing is for sure: funding for cancer research and prevention programs is taking a dangerous hit.

I was pleased to hear President Obama mention the need to invest in science and innovation in TuesdayŠ—'s State of the Union address. Cancer patients and survivors nationwide need a renewed commitment from Congress and the administration to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute at levels that keep up with inflation and allow promising research to continue.

To illustrate just how crucial federal funding is for cancer research, ACS CAN released a new report this week, Š—“Catalyst for Cures: How Federally Funded Cancer Research Saves Lives.Š— This report underscores the threat posed by sequestration to future progress in the fight to end death and suffering from cancer by highlighting federally-funded scientists who have discovered new ways to treat specific cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer and the patients who benefited from those advances.

With 35 days until the election IŠ—'m sure youŠ—'ve seen the presidential candidates spreading their message on TV, on the radio and across the web. Where I live in Virginia, I see an ad for President Obama or Gov. Romney just about every time I turn on the TV. And tomorrow night, weŠ—'ll hear the candidates defend their stance on issues such as the economy and health care in their first debate.