Letters to the House and Senate Co-Sponsors of the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Reauthorization Act

October 31st, 2022

Representative Michael T. McCaul
United States House of Representatives
2001 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Representative Jackie Speier
United States House of Representatives
2465 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Representative G.K. Butterfield
United States House of Representatives
2080 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Representative Mike Kelly
United States House of Representatives
1707 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative McCaul, Representative Speier, Representative Butterfield, and Representative Kelly:

The undersigned childhood cancer organizations and individuals are members of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), consisting of childhood cancer organizations and individual advocates, representing millions of Americans who care deeply about childhood cancer. We are writing to urge Congress to reauthorize the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act. Thank you for your leadership in the fight against childhood cancer. Childhood Cancer is the #1 disease-related killer of kids and teenagers in the U.S.

One in five children diagnosed with cancer will die within five years of diagnosis, and, on average their age at death is eight–a full 70 years of expected life lost.

One in 285 American children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20. That means that in 2022, 10,470 children (birth to 14 years) and 5,480 adolescents (aged 15-19 years) will receive cancer diagnoses. More than 95% of childhood cancer survivors will have significant health-related issues by the time they are 45 years of age. These health-related issues are side effects of their
cancer or, more commonly, the result of their treatment regimen.

The Childhood Cancer STAR Act was signed into law on June 5, 2018 (Public Law No: 115-180) and is the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill in history. For the last four years, Congress provided $30 million each year to fund the programs created by the STAR Act.

The Childhood Cancer STAR Act expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors. Building upon previous efforts, the Childhood Cancer STAR Act authorizes grants to state cancer registries to identify and track incidences of child, adolescent, and young adult cancer. This funding is being used to identify and train reporters of childhood cancer cases, secure infrastructure to ensure early reporting and capture of child cancer incidences, and support the collection of cases into a national childhood cancer registry.

The Childhood Cancer STAR Act authorizes the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to expand existing efforts to collect biospecimens for childhood cancer patients enrolled in NCI-sponsored clinical trials to collect and maintain relevant clinical, biological, and demographic information on all children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer, ultimately advancing the research that brings us closer to finding a cure.

We look forward to working with your offices to ensure the swift reauthorization of the Act to continue this important work. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Vickie Buenger, CAC2 President Emeritus at president@cac2.org.

Sincerely,

The Coalition Against Childhood Cancer
CAC2 Organization Members:
A Moment of Magic
Aiden’s Army
Along Comes Hope
Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation
Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses
Bearing Hope
Beat Childhood Cancer
Braden’s Hope For Childhood Cancer
CancerFree KIDS
Carson Leslie Foundation
CCAGCC
Children’s Cancer Cause
Christina Renna Foundation Inc.
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation
CURE Childhood Cancer
Cure4Cam Childhood Cancer Foundation
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
Daniela Conte Foundation
Dragon Master Foundation
Family Reach
For a Day Foundation
Gold Rush Cure Foundation
Hope4ATRT Foundation
Jack’s Angels
Joey’s Wings Foundation
Julia’s Grace Foundation
JUST TRYAN IT
Kier’s Kidz A NJ Nonprofit Corp
Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation
MIB Agents, Inc
Mithil Prasad Foundation
Momcology
Mystic Force Foundation
National Brain Tumor Society
Northwest Indiana Cancer Kids Foundation
Our Amazing Fighters
People Against Childhood Cancer
PREP4Gold
Princess Nora’s Warrior Foundation
Rein in Sarcoma
Richi Childhood Cancer Foundation
SebastianStrong Foundation
Smashing Walnuts Foundation
Solving Kids’ Cancer
Sophia’s Fund
Swifty Foundation
Taylor Matthews Foundation
The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation
The Bardo Foundation
The Catherine Elizabeth Blair Memorial Foundation
The EVAN Foundation
The Lilabean Foundation
The Morgan Adams Foundation
The Neuroblastoma Children’s Cancer Society
The Pablove Foundation
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
The Ross K. MacNeill Foundation
The Smasherson Foundation
The Steven G Cancer Foundation
This Star Won’t Go Out
Tough2gether Against DIPG DMG
West Virginia Kids Cancer Crusaders
WITH Grace Initiative
Zoefia Alexandria Foundation Inc
CAC2 Individual Members:
Joe Baber
Caitlyn Barrett
Vanessa Beetini
Vickie Buenger
Casey Crossan
Stephen Crowley
George Dahlman
Jennifer Dokas
Karla Flook
Judy Fulmer
Cristy Gallagher
Jennifer Ivanovich
Kevin Kane
Deborah Kochevar
T.J. Koerner
Susannah E.Koontz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA
Bobbi Krabill
Angela Lee
Bethany Lieberman
Robert Madonna
Lee Marchiano
Steven Marder
Misha Mehta
Carleen Miller
Laurie Orloski
Cruz Perez-Jimenez
Steven Pessagno
Joan Pilko
Tom Pilko
Lynda Poole
Juanita Prada
Ann Ramer
Stan Robbins
Raquel Sitcheran

Senator Shelley Moore Capito
United States Senate
172 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Jack Reed
United States Senate
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Chris Van Hollen
United States Senate
110 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Lisa Murkowski
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Moore Capito, Senator Reed, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Murkowski:

The undersigned childhood cancer organizations and individuals are members of the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), consisting of childhood cancer organizations and individual advocates, representing millions of Americans who care deeply about childhood cancer. We are writing to urge Congress to reauthorize the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research
(STAR) Act. Thank you for your leadership in the fight against childhood cancer.

Childhood Cancer is the #1 disease-related killer of kids and teenagers in the U.S. One in five children diagnosed with cancer will die within five years of diagnosis, and, on average their age at death is eight–a full 70 years of expected life lost.

The Childhood Cancer STAR Act expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors. Building upon previous efforts, the Childhood Cancer STAR Act authorizes grants to state cancer registries to identify and track incidences of child, adolescent, and young adult
cancer. This funding is being used to identify and train reporters of childhood cancer cases, secure infrastructure to ensure early reporting and capture of child cancer incidences, and support the collection of cases into a national childhood cancer registry.

Sincerely,

CAC2 Coalition Against Childhood Cancer
PO Box 41913
Philadelphia, PA 19101
cac2.org

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