Press Release: John Carney Announces Cancer Work Plan to Reduce Cancer Rates in Delaware
June 18, 2010

Wilmington, DE — Speaking in the conference room of the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, Congressional Candidate, John Carney, laid out his three-point, cancer work plan for helping to further reduce Delaware’s cancer incidence and mortality rates if he’s elected to Congress.

“I am so pleased to stand here today with Delaware’s Cancer Control Team. This team, and many others who are not present today, have done more to fight cancer in Delaware than any other group,” stated Carney. “It has been a privilege for me to be part of this team since the Cancer Consortium was established almost 8 years ago. However, we have more work to do to ensure that we continue to bring down cancer rates here in Delaware, so today I am pleased to propose a three-pronged, cancer work plan to help reduce Delaware’s cancer rates that I will fight for if elected to Congress.

“First, I want to work with the Division of Public Health to secure funding for a statewide body burden study; second, I want to work with Dr. Grubbs and the Institute of Medicine to implement the new framework for cancer clinical trials outlined in the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report; and third, I want to build capacity at the Center for Translational Cancer Research, which is where we are standing today.”

Joining John Carney were members of Delaware’s Cancer Control Team: Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere); Bill Bowser-Chair, Delaware Cancer Consortium; Meg Maley, RN, MSN-Chair of the Environment Committee, Delaware Cancer Consortium; Nicholas Petrelli, M.D. – Medical Director, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center; and Stephen Grubbs, M.D.- Principal Investigator, Delaware Christiana Care Community Clinical Oncology Program, Helen F. Graham Cancer, who each offered their expertise and perspective on the three proposal recommended by John Carney, as well as their history with him on fighting to lower cancer rates in Delaware.

Senator Blevins gave attendees background on the Cancer Right to Know Legislation that passed the Delaware State Senate 20-0 in 2008. “John Carney came to me and then-Representative Bethany Hall-Long to discuss the cancer clusters and the fact that Delaware Public Health didn’t want to release the information either to the public, or the researchers,” said Blevins. “John invested a huge amount of time and effort to get support for the legislation, so not only would the public be better informed, but researchers could use the data to do what they need to do to prevent future cancer incidence and mortality in these areas of our state.”

Meg Maley said funding for the body burden study is important because it will allow Delaware to connect the dots between the incidence and mortality of cancer and potential causes.

“The ability to track and trend this information longitudinally-which the body burden study would help us to do-could help us target environmental clean up efforts, target public education efforts, and hopefully help us make sure our children have less exposure risk than we do today,” Maley said.

Grubbs said high quality cancer clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute are essential to Delaware’s and the entire nation’s war on cancer.

“These trials when completed efficiently will reduce the burden of cancer in our communities and ultimately lead to more cures of this dreaded disease,” Grubbs said. “Delaware is a leader in the NCI clinical trials system and the recent report of the Institute of Medicine has clearly outlined the need for an overhaul of this vital resource. I thank former Lieutenant Governor John Carney for his ongoing attention to the future of our State’s and nation’s cancer research enterprise and his dedication to the reform of this system.”

Petrelli said the Center for Translational Cancer Research also has tremendous potential to help people in the future.
“I am glad to be here with John Carney today,” Petrelli said. “In my mind, this unit (the Center for Translational Cancer Research) is the heartbeat of this medical campus. The future care of Delawareans, improvements in prevention of cancer, improvements in cancer care, will come from this unit. Having this center in Delaware is a huge advantage for all Delawareans.”
Delaware Cancer Consortium Chair Bill Bowser also offered comments supporting the work plan outlined by Carney at the press conference. “Having John Carney in Congress would make sure that fighting cancer is and remains a national priority,” state Bowser.

Background:
John Carney is currently the Chair of the Health Disparities Committee of the Delaware Cancer Consortium. In 2008, John Carney worked with Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins to create the Cancer Right to Know law, which stated that residents, including those who lived in so called “Cancer Clusters,” had a right to know that information. The legislation was necessary when then-Governor Ruth Ann Minner refused to direct the Division of Public Health to release the information.