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Continuing its engagement with issues that affect the cancer center community, AACI staff attended several events in Washington, DC, last month. Following the Friends of Cancer Research annual meeting on Tuesday, November 14,  AACI participated in advocacy events promoting HPV- and lung cancer-related legislation.

On Wednesday, November 15, AACI participated alongside more than 25 advocates from 10 organizations in the HPV Cancers Alliance Day of Advocacy. The event, organized by the HPV Cancers Alliance and Moffitt Cancer Center, raised awareness of the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act, which would expand funding for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection initiative. Attendees met with 20 congressional offices and the White House Cancer Moonshot team.

The Montana delegation at the HPV Cancers Alliance Day of Advocacy

The following day, Moffitt, the American Lung Association, GO2 for Lung Cancer, LUNGevity Foundation, and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center held a press conference to demand national action to reduce suffering and death from lung cancer. 

Mary Reid, PhD, chief of cancer screening and survivorship at Roswell Park, said, "We know screening to detect lung cancers early saves lives; we know who we should be screening; we know screening is painless, noninvasive, quick, and cost-effective, and yet we have shockingly low rates of lung cancer early detection. We have to do better for the tens of thousands who will be diagnosed with lung cancer each month this year, and we know what some of the biggest barriers are that we have to tackle to get there."

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) outlined a comprehensive slate of legislation to address the crisis of lung cancer, including the Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act (H.R. 4286), which Representatives Brian Higgins (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Kathy Castor (D-FL) sponsored and re-introduced in June. The bill would:

• Increase access to annual lung cancer screening, as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), by removing barriers such as prior authorization and cost sharing for all eligible individuals
• Increase access to smoking cessation smoking treatments and counseling for all Medicaid recipients
• Establish a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the importance of lung cancer screenings and the eligibility criteria for who should receive such screenings

AACI partners with like-minded organizations and advocates on behalf of the cancer center community through various activities, including an annual joint Hill Day with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The next AACI/AACR Hill Day is scheduled for May 16, 2024.