The critical program for prostate cancer research at the Department of Defense is in danger, and we need your help right now, to put the full court press on key Appropriations Committee legislators.
We need you, your friends, and group members to immediately contact the
legislators with some basic talking points, listed below.
WHATS GOING ON?
Funding for the Prostate Cancer Research Program has been lumped in with the
other research programs in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program
(CDMRP) at the Department of Defense, and as of Thursday, the total funding has
been cut by nearly $35 million.
WHAT WE WANT:
The Appropriations committee meets on Wednesday, and we have less than 48 hours
to convince enough legislators to dedicate (earmark) specifically to the
Prostate Cancer Research Program, at least $85 million, the same funding we had
last year, and to restore the $35 million cut from the group of programs.
CALL THESE PEOPLE BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 18 2005, AND PERSONALLY ASK AS MANY PEOPLE AS
YOU CAN TO CALL THEM AS WELL.
Members of the House Appropriations Full Committee
Rep. Jerry Lewis, Chair (R-CA) 202-225-5861
Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) 202-225-5452
Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH) 202-225-3876
Rep. Roger Wicker (R-MS) 202-225-4306
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) 202-225-5034
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-FL) 202-225-3671
Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Ranking Member 202-225-3365
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, (D-CT) 202-225-3661
Rep. James Moran, (D-VA) 202-225-4376
Rep. Jessie Jackson, Jr., (D-IL) 202-225-0773
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) 202-225-4911
THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO RESTORE THIS FUNDING
You may just be leaving a message for the Representative with a staff person. If
you can only say one thing, say something like this:
Please dedicate $85 million, the same as last year, to fund the Prostate Cancer
Research program at the Department of Defense
TALKING POINTS:
Prostate cancer attacks on in six men with 232,00 new cases and over 30,000
deaths expected this year (According to the American Cancer Society)
Medicare is spending more than 4 billion dollars a year to treat prostate
cancer. There are 18.3 million men currently enrolled in Medicare, and that
number is only going to go up with the retiring Baby Boomers.
The Department of Defense has determined that the program needs $100 million
dollars to allow for clinical trials needed to bring new treatments to the
public.
Unlike the more general cancer programs at the NIH or NCI, this is the only
program that can research the unique qualities of prostate cancer by:
Seeking unusual approaches: Researchers have been studying how prostate cancer
changes from a slow growing latent disease to a lethal one. Right now, three
treatments to intervene in this lethal transformation are ready for clinical
research in humans, but without the full funding, these trials cant be done.
Answering key questions. Why does prostate cancer kill African American men at
2.4 times the rate of Caucasian men?
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
If we can save the funding for this program, it will be because you stepped up
to the plate today.
*Details on the Medicare cost estimates:
Approximately 159,000 of the cases expected to be diagnosed this year, will be
in men enrolled in Medicare. (Seventy percent of prostate cancer cases are in
men over the age of 65, and approximately 98% of men over 65 are enrolled in
Medicare)
$25,000 per case is a very, very conservative estimate of treatment costs during
the first year after diagnosis. Lifetime costs are around $50,000 per person.
