Michelle Lavarre of Kaua’i and other advocates from Hawai’i met this week with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, U.S. Rep. Ed Case and other federal lawmakers to urge them to increase funding for cancer research and prevention programs and pass the Clinical Trial Modernization Act.
The act would remove financial barriers to accessing clinical trials and increase participation from underrepresented groups, including people from rural areas. Advocates say passage of the legislation would help to improve patient outcomes following a cancer diagnosis.
Lavarre shared her personal journey with cancer and her professional work with patients.
She was part of a group of about 800 cancer patients, survivors and other advocates who traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual Leadership Summit and Lobby Day sponsored by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
In the last 30 years, substantial and steady increases in federal cancer research funding have fueled discovery and innovation that has led to a 34% decline in cancer mortality rates, according to a news release from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Advocates reminded lawmakers that this incredible momentum in the fight against cancer is fueled by sufficient funding at key agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 9,500 Hawai’i residents are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2026.
