Local cancer patient advocate to lobby on Capitol Hill Sept. 17

Hundreds of cancer survivors, caregivers and providers will travel to Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Sept. 17, to attend the 2023 American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Summit and Lobby Day.

Representing Delaware, Donna Holland of Rehoboth Beach will join in urging elected officials to take specific steps to make cancer a national priority and help end a disease that still kills about 1,676 people per day in this country.

Holland has been lending her voice to the fight against cancer since 2020, when she lost her sister to lung cancer. For over a year before her sister passed, Holland acted as her caregiver. This wasn’t the first time that she had served as a caregiver to someone she loved with cancer; 30 years ago, Holland cared for her daughter when she was diagnosed with Wilms tumor at the age of 5. In the years following her daughter’s recovery, she also served as the primary caregiver to several friends and family members.

Holland will meet with members of the Delaware congressional delegation to discuss the need to support an increase in federal funding for cancer research through the National Institutes of Health and prevention programs. She will also ask lawmakers to support legislation to create a pathway for Medicare to cover new multi-cancer early detection tests once they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and proven effective.

“Roughly 1 in 3 people in the U.S. will hear the words ‘you have cancer’ in their lifetime. We need a full and unwavering commitment from Congress to take action to help prevent, detect and treat cancer,” said Holland. “We want our lawmakers to know that volunteers from Delaware, and from every state across the country, are counting on them to take a stand.”

After meeting with their lawmakers, volunteers will gather at the Constitution Gardens in Washington, D.C., to honor cancer survivors and remember those lost to the disease during the annual Lights of Hope ceremony. Illuminated bags decorated with the names of those who have faced a cancer diagnosis will be displayed as a powerful message of hope.

Delawareans impacted by cancer and wishing to get involved with ACS CAN should go to fightcancer.org or contact Casey O’Neill at casey.oneill@cancer.org.