Finally!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

"Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act” Passes in the United States House of Representatives

CureSearch is thrilled to announce that today by a vote of 416 to 0, H.R. 1553 - “The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act” - has passed the United States House of Representatives!

This outcome is the result of much work, by not only CureSearch, but of many thousands of parents, survivors, physicians, researchers and others who have been advocating for this day since the bill was first introduced in the House back in March 2007.

It is also an indicator that this nation’s leaders are slowly but surely embracing our collective vision of creating a world in which every child with cancer can be guaranteed the gift of a long and healthy life.

The legislation is named in honor of the memory of Caroline Pryce Walker, daughter of Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), who died of a neuroblastoma in 1999 at age nine. Pryce is the original author of the bill.

Upon passage of the measure, an emotional Pryce noted that “cancer is no longer the mystery it once was. The scientific and medial communities continue to crash through barriers, to unlock cancer’s secrets, and to cut this opponent down to size.”

Companion legislation in the U.S. Senate, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), has already passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee. The next step will be a full vote in the Senate. Currently there are 64 Senators who are co-sponsors of this landmark legislation.

We at CureSearch want to thank all of you in the childhood cancer community for your relentless, unwavering pursuit of finding a cure. This legislation, when enacted, is sure to save the lives of thousands of children in this generation and in generations to come.

There are many battles ahead in the fight to conquer childhood cancer. But today is surely a great day in this fight.