Concerns put into Action

Yesterday during the concerns time at church I asked the congregation to write to their congress person and senators about cancer funding. I was specifically interested in Leukemia and Lymphoma research because I got the notice from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society about writing letters to the editors of our local newspapers. I did that and tailored the template to fit my situation and sent it off to several local newspapers. The Courier News of Bridgewater printed my letter.
I hope you will send a letter to your congress person and senators now that they are back in session about this. You can tailor it to reflect you opinion.
I will again be fund raising for the LLS on October 6 at Colonial Park in Somerset. You can either walk with me or raise funds for me by donating and getting your friends to donate. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a private source for research funds and have been successful in producing Gleevic a drug for CML.
Here is my letter to the editor:


U.S. can't afford to defund work on blood cancers

In the past 20 years we've seen enormous progress in research and discovery of new treatments for blood-related cancers; particularly in childhood leukemia and some adult blood cancers. Despite this progress, the prognosis for many blood cancers remains bleak, with hundreds of thousands of patients facing unnecessary suffering and death.

But our enormous progress is being undermined and could soon be reversed due to inadequate federal funding when we need commitment and conviction the most. Over the last four years, federal funding for cancer research has been flat or declined as research has become more expensive. Reduced support for cancer research could lead to delays in the development of new screenings and treatments that could help detect cancer early and save lives. Some research groups have already terminated lifesaving clinical trials.

As a cancer survivor with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia, and as a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society volunteer, I don't understand how anyone would think our country can afford to curb its investment in blood cancer research. Currently, there is no cure for CLL. I am on watch and wait, which means I don't require treatment yet. Doctors do not want to put stable patients like me through the rigors of treatment with all the side effects. Research is being done to find newer treatment options and hopefully some day a cure for this type of cancer.

Leaders in Congress say they are committed to funding the fight against cancer, but so far they have given it a lower priority than hundreds of other programs. The House of Representatives proposed a 1.5 percent increase for the National Cancer Institute, the nation's premier cancer research institution, far less than the average 6.4 percent increase for other health and education programs. With the increased costs associated with medical research, that does not even keep pace with last year, let alone the declining budgets of the last few years.

I urge Rep. Mike Ferguson and Senators Lautenberg and Menendez to support residents here in New Jersey living with blood-related cancer and those who will be diagnosed with the disease by committing to increase funding for cancer research at a minimum at the rate of medical inflation. Simply put: The greater our investment, the more lives we will save.

JEANNETTE E. BROWN

Hillsborough