WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation to help thousands of children who undergo cancer treatment each year took an important step forward today when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously passed the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act (S. 292). The bipartisan bill was written by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and was introduced last February with critical support from Senators Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). It will advance pediatric cancer research and child-focused cancer treatments, while also improving childhood cancer surveillance and providing resources for survivors and those impacted by childhood cancer.
“The Childhood Cancer STAR Act will help some of our country’s youngest cancer patients by encouraging new developments in both research and treatment,” Senator Capito said. “I know this legislation will make an important difference in the lives of children with cancer, as well as childhood cancer survivors, and their families. It’s exciting to see our bipartisan bill advance in the Senate, and I will continue working with Senator Reed and our colleagues to make sure it’s passed.”
“This is a positive step toward advancing pediatric cancer research and providing a lot of courageous kids and their families with some additional help,” Senator Reed said. “The Childhood Cancer STAR Act will bring needed assistance to children with cancer and their families by expanding opportunities for research on childhood cancer and providing new strategies to help survivors overcome late health effects, such as secondary cancers. It is my hope that these efforts will lead to life-saving treatments for children and bring us closer to our ultimate goal of ending pediatric cancer once and for all.”
While some progress has been made in pediatric cancer research—with deaths from childhood cancer declining by almost 70 percent over the last four decades—cancer is still the leading cause of death by disease past infancy among children in the United States, according to NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI estimates that nationwide, 10,380 children and adolescents up to 14 years of age were diagnosed with cancer within the last year and 1,250 will die of the disease.
The Childhood Cancer STAR Act currently has 44 Senate cosponsors. Now that it has been approved by the HELP Committee, it must be debated and passed by the full U.S. Senate. Similar legislation is working its way through the U.S. House of Representatives under the bipartisan leadership of U.S. Representatives Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif.).
BACKGROUND
The Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act (S. 292) would expand opportunities for childhood cancer research, improve efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhance the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.
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