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OpinionAugust 20, 2003

To the editor: The nation's investment in medical research has yielded remarkable returns. As a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, I can attest to the progress being made in the fight against cancer. More Americans are surviving cancer than every before, but we still have work to do. This year, 29,500 people will be newly diagnosed, and 12,300 will die in Missouri from cancer...

To the editor:

The nation's investment in medical research has yielded remarkable returns. As a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, I can attest to the progress being made in the fight against cancer. More Americans are surviving cancer than every before, but we still have work to do. This year, 29,500 people will be newly diagnosed, and 12,300 will die in Missouri from cancer.

Over the last five years, Congress has helped accelerate the pace of medical research. I applaud this effort, but Congress now is threatening to put the brakes on with a budget that provides near-flat funding for the National Institutes of Health. As it is now, the NIH can only fund about one out of every three research-project applications.

I hope your readers will join me in urging U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond to vote for an amendment to support at least an 8.5 percent increase to the NIH budget when he returns to Washington in September. I also urge U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson to pledge her support for an increase. This is the amount the cancer society believes is needed to further progress being made in the fight against cancer.

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The promise of more medical breakthroughs will fade without sustained and consistent investments. We cannot afford to let research languish when we are on the brink of advancing medicines and new treatments. Lives depend on it.

CHRISTY FERRELL

Community Ambassador

American Cancer Society

Caruthersville, Mo.

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