Crestview Hills resident Lydia Epping, along with more than 750 cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones across the nation travelled to Washington, D.C. last week as part of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s annual Leadership Summit and Lobby Day.
Epping, a kidney cancer survivor who was diagnosed at age seven, met with the Kentucky congressional delegation to urge them to support policies that increase funding for cancer research and prevention programs and urge lawmakers to pass the Clinical Trial Modernization Act.
In the last 30 years, substantial and steady increases in federal cancer research funding have fueled discovery and innovation that have led to a 34% decline in cancer mortality rates.
Advocates reminded lawmakers that this incredible momentum in the fight against cancer is fueled by sufficient funding at key agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Epping also called on Kentucky lawmakers to support the bipartisan Clinical Trial Modernization Act, or CTMA. The legislation would make it easier for all people with cancer to participate in clinical trials, including those in underrepresented populations, like rural residents, older adults, certain racial and ethnic groups, and those with limited incomes.
American Cancer Society