Congress Boosts Funding for Prostate Cancer Research March 22, 2018 Successful Prostate Cancer Research Program Finally Back to 2001 Funding LevelWASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s been 18 years since the world’s most successful prostate cancer research initiative had $100M in funding. In a historic victory for patients and families fighting prostate cancer, Congress increased the Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD) budget by $10M, returning the program to its 2001 funding level.The PCRP is heralded as the most fruitful funding initiative for the disease in the world because over the last seven years it has funded discoveries of three treatments for advanced prostate cancer and a breakthrough diagnostic tool to decipher aggressive disease from indolent tumors.“This historic increase will lead to funding about a dozen new prostate cancer research projects at academic institutions around the country and each of them could unlock the cure to a disease that kills nearly 30,000 men each year,” Jamie Bearse, ZERO Prostate Cancer’s CEO, said. “It’s a proud accomplishment for our advocates and their families and I’m incredibly thankful to our champions in the House and Senate for their dedication and leadership toward ending prostate cancer.”Each year, ZERO hosts an expansive Summit with patient advocates from across the country to meet with elected officials. Increasing research funds at the PCRP is at the top of ZERO’s Summit agenda because the program uniquely works with patients to identify gaps in research and care then awards talented scientists who are pursuing advancements to eliminate those identified areas of need.“Enabling patients like an army colonel and father of three, who is alive today because of the research at the PCRP, to meet with Congress and share his story is important to show the impact this key research is having on active duty servicemen, veterans, and civilian men and their families,” Bearse said.U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) championed the effort, securing signatures from more than 110 Members of Congress on letters to the defense appropriations committees in support of PCRP funding at the DoD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP is host to innovative breakthroughs for many diseases and conditions impacting both active-duty service men and women as well as military families.The research funded by the PCRP is more critical than ever as Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from the National Cancer Institute predicts deaths to jump by 3,000 deaths this year. More than 164,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and nearly ten percent of those diagnoses will occur among our nation’s veteran population. In fact, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among male veterans. Press Release
Successful Prostate Cancer Research Program Finally Back to 2001 Funding LevelWASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s been 18 years since the world’s most successful prostate cancer research initiative had $100M in funding. In a historic victory for patients and families fighting prostate cancer, Congress increased the Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD) budget by $10M, returning the program to its 2001 funding level.The PCRP is heralded as the most fruitful funding initiative for the disease in the world because over the last seven years it has funded discoveries of three treatments for advanced prostate cancer and a breakthrough diagnostic tool to decipher aggressive disease from indolent tumors.“This historic increase will lead to funding about a dozen new prostate cancer research projects at academic institutions around the country and each of them could unlock the cure to a disease that kills nearly 30,000 men each year,” Jamie Bearse, ZERO Prostate Cancer’s CEO, said. “It’s a proud accomplishment for our advocates and their families and I’m incredibly thankful to our champions in the House and Senate for their dedication and leadership toward ending prostate cancer.”Each year, ZERO hosts an expansive Summit with patient advocates from across the country to meet with elected officials. Increasing research funds at the PCRP is at the top of ZERO’s Summit agenda because the program uniquely works with patients to identify gaps in research and care then awards talented scientists who are pursuing advancements to eliminate those identified areas of need.“Enabling patients like an army colonel and father of three, who is alive today because of the research at the PCRP, to meet with Congress and share his story is important to show the impact this key research is having on active duty servicemen, veterans, and civilian men and their families,” Bearse said.U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) championed the effort, securing signatures from more than 110 Members of Congress on letters to the defense appropriations committees in support of PCRP funding at the DoD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP is host to innovative breakthroughs for many diseases and conditions impacting both active-duty service men and women as well as military families.The research funded by the PCRP is more critical than ever as Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data from the National Cancer Institute predicts deaths to jump by 3,000 deaths this year. More than 164,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and nearly ten percent of those diagnoses will occur among our nation’s veteran population. In fact, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among male veterans.
