PSA Director Advocates on Capitol Hill for Cancer Research Funding

On Sept. 25, volunteers and staff from the American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) attended the Annual Leadership Summit and Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. Over 500 volunteers from across the nation came together to have face-to-face meetings with their elected officials to convince them cancer should be a top national priority.

PSA’s Director of Communications and Development, Jean Holloway, represented Ohio District 10 Montgomery County from Dayton, OH. Jean was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer in December of 2016 and has been involved with the ACS CAN advocacy organization for the past year. She spoke on issues including supporting palliative care legislation and passing the new budget, which gives a $2 billion increase to lifesaving cancer research funding through the National Institutes of Health. Meetings on the Hill included U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman and Congressman Mike Turner.

“Advocacy is important to me because I want to change the mindset of what living with Stage IV breast cancer looks like. I am 39 years old, a young mother and wife living with terminal cancer. Advances in understanding and treating how cancer metastasizes, or spreads to other parts of the body, is the only way to save lives. I am fortunate to have the ACS CAN platform to speak out on behalf of others living with this horrible disease.”

On Wednesday, Congress passed the $2 billion increase in funding for cancer and medical research, and it was signed into law. This was a victory for the ACS CAN group on the Hill and proof that every voice matters when it comes to funding lifesaving cancer research.