On the remote possibility that someone might actually stop by, I'll post a recent news item and ask each person to visit the CureSearch site and add your voice to those of families with kids fighting cancer. By visiting http://capwiz.com/curesearch/home/ you can use the very-user-friendly system to find names and email addresses and email your own elected officials and ask/plead/beg/demand their support for the "Conquering Childhood Cancer Act of 2006" (Senate.2393 & House of Reps. 4927) which is a landmark legislation that would provide $100 million to expand research programs aimed at curing and preventing pediatric cancer. Ask all of your friends and family to write, too and join Cody and all of us in the fight against pediatric cancers!

News Item:

Bi-partisan, bicameral (Senate & House!) support for all kids with all types of cancer comes from Congress:
On Wednesday, March 8, 2006, Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH) and Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) jointly introduced the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006 in both the Senate (S.2393) and the House of Representatives (H.R. 4927) to address the leading cause of death by disease in infants, adolescents and young adults under the age of 20.

This bipartisan initiative involves multiple additional Senate co-sponsors including Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jim Talent (R-MO), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

Are your elected officials listed as co-sponsors? I don't see ours either... darn it! MORE WORK TO DO! But the work part for you is easy if you'll see the link above for CureSearch's ultra-easy system to email your own elected officials and ask/beg/demand their support for the "Conquering Childhood Cancer Act of 2006" (Senate.2393 & House of Reps. 4927). There's even a pre-fabbed email which will help you zap a note to your own elected officials! It really couldn't be any easier than CureSearch has made it for you!

House Republican Conference Chairman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), who lost her daughter to childhood cancer and Congressmen Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006 authorizes $100 million—$20 million annually—over a five-year period starting in 2006 to support biomedical research programs, which directly translates into increased survival rates for children with cancer. The legislation also provides funding for informational and educational services to families coping with a diagnosis. It will establish a national childhood cancer database that will enable researchers, for the first time, to study the population of children with cancer and to monitor the incidence of pediatric cancers, identify cancer causes and aid in the development of prevention strategies.