McCaul Recognizes International Childhood Cancer Day
WASHINGTON – Today, on International Childhood Cancer Day, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), co-founder of the Childhood Cancer Caucus, released the following statement.
“I’ll never forget losing one of my elementary-school friends to cancer,” said Rep. McCaul, “and I know this tragic disease continues to cut thousands of young lives short every single year. That’s why I started the Childhood Cancer Caucus when I first joined Congress — to provide hope and a brighter future, both to the thousands of kids diagnosed each year and the survivors who continue to face an uphill health battle. It has been the highlight of my career to see lives changed through the caucus’s work, and I will continue raising my voice on behalf of these children until we’ve beaten cancer once and for all.”
Background:
Rep. McCaul has hosted 13 childhood cancer summits as co-chair of the Childhood Cancer Caucus, and he has been awarded the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s National Distinguished Advocacy Award in recognition of his dedication to the fight against childhood cancer.
Since the caucus’s founding, Rep. McCaul has successfully led the passage of several bills that are working to end childhood cancer in the United States:
- The Creating Hope Act incentivizes pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs for children with rare pediatric diseases.
- The RACE (Research to Accelerate Cures and Equity) for Children Act allows the most innovative adult treatments for cancer to be studied for use in children.
- The STAR (Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research) Act, the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill ever written, expands research on childhood cancers and works to enhance the quality of life for survivors.
- The STAR Reauthorization Act was signed into law in December.
Rep. McCaul has also championed the Global Hope Act, which builds on Houston-based Texas Children Hospital’s Global HOPE program — a transformational initiative to improve the diagnoses and treatment of childhood cancer in Africa. The Global Hope Act would facilitate partnerships between the federal government, the private sector, research institutions, and non-governmental organizations to decrease pediatric cancer mortality globally.
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