Lance Builds Support for the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act

WASHINGTON – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) today joined advocates from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, fellow lawmakers and medical experts in building congressional support for H.R. 733, the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act.  

H.R. 733, which is co-sponsored by Lance and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), proposes comprehensive research initiatives and programs that would facilitate finding a cure for pancreatic cancer.  Once enacted and fully funded, the legislation would create a more targeted approach to provide scientists with the resources they need to make progress in developing diagnostic methods and treatments that are now lacking for pancreatic cancer patients. 

“Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death,” Lance told participants at a Capitol Hill briefing in support of the legislation.  “It is a disease without a cure or any means of early detection.  Three quarters of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within a year, and in 2010 it was estimated that there were over 43,000 new cases and nearly 37,000 deaths.  Yet despite these sobering statistics pancreatic cancer receives approximately two percent of the National Cancer Institute’s budget and lacks the national attention of other cancer diseases.”

During the briefing, Lance commended volunteers and officials with Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for leading the way to increase the survival rate for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“It is through your dedication and hard work that pancreatic cancer patients and their families have hope in finding a cure to this terrible disease, which has claimed the lives of visionary Steve Jobs, actor Patrick Swayze and more recently my friend and colleague in Congress Representative Donald Payne. I hope to change this by working together with my colleague Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in the House of Representatives and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse by building support for the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act.”

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