|
|
MILWAUKEE (6/19/2007) - Children's Hospital of Wisconsin patient Madeline West, along with her parents Melissa and Sebastian, will travel to Washington, D.C. to join other families from across the nation for "Reach the Day." Slated for Tuesday, June 26, 2007, Reach the Day is a national day of awareness for childhood cancer research. Participating families will show their support for the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act, which authorizes $150 million for research over a five-year period.
Madeline, from Sherwood, Wis., was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) when she was 2.
More than 12,500 children are diagnosed with cancer annually and more than 40,000 children and adolescents currently are being treated for childhood cancers. In 2006, there were 119 patients newly diagnosed with cancer at Children's Hospital. By treating children in clinical trials, the cancer cure rate for children has improved to nearly 80 percent in Children's Oncology Group member hospitals.
"This legislation recognizes childhood cancer as a significant health issue and the leading cause of death from disease in children," said Gregory Reaman, MD, Chairman of the Children's Oncology Group. "Each day that pediatric cancer research goes under-funded, the challenge to discovering new treatments and cures becomes more difficult and the lives of children are unfairly jeopardized. While there have been remarkable breakthroughs in cancer treatments and improvements in the survival rate, too many children continue to die."
"CureSearch is extremely grateful to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin for shining a national spotlight on the issue of childhood cancer," said Executive Director Stacy Haller. "Reach the Day: Conquer Childhood Cancer gives a voice to children with cancer and families throughout the United States. Research is the only key to curing childhood cancer. Our dedicated physicians, nurses and scientists must be given the tools they need to reach the day when every child with cancer is guaranteed a cure."
For more information on supporting the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act, visit www.curesearch.org.
|
