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Press Release

Senate Passes Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act, Championed by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation


December 20, 2022

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jo Anne Avelar
joanne.avelar@stbaldricks.org

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 20, 2022) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer grants, commends the Senate for unanimously passing the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act, which would allow the programs from the original Childhood Cancer STAR Act to continue for five more years. 

“On behalf of the advocates, volunteers and donors of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the kids and families we serve, I thank our lawmakers for passing the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act and making childhood cancer a priority,” said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “The childhood cancer community deeply values the consistent bipartisan commitment to support important programs that are making a difference for kids with cancer.” 

Congress unanimously passed the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act in 2018. The STAR Act expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors. 

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), and G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act in April to allow these programs to continue for five more years. 

St. Baldrick’s Foundation advocates and volunteers were directly involved throughout the legislative process to support the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation also worked closely with allies in the childhood cancer community to share the community’s collective support for these programs, including the Alliance for Childhood Cancer. The Alliance for Childhood Cancer is a coalition of patient advocacy groups, healthcare professional societies and scientific organizations; the St. Baldrick’s Foundation serves as a co-chair of the Alliance. 

“From supporting survivorship research to expanding and streamlining biobanking projects and beyond, the Childhood Cancer STAR Act is transforming the research landscape for childhood cancer,” Ruddy said. “There is still much more work to do for kids with cancer, but today’s news gives us all so much hope for the future. We call on the House of Representatives to pass the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act quickly to build on today’s promising momentum.” 

About St. Baldrick’s Foundation 

Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, is on a mission to Conquer Kids’ Cancer by supporting the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. When you give to St. Baldrick’s, you don’t just give to one hospital – you support virtually every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick’s ensures that children fighting cancer now — and those diagnosed in the future — will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the training of the next generation of researchers, to lifesaving clinical trials. Visit StBaldricks.org and help #ConquerKidsCancer. 

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