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Letter from cog group chair
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Dear Children's Oncology Group Community,
When my 90-year-old father started his career as a pediatrician in 1960, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was uniformly fatal. The best a family could hope for was that their child would live for about eighteen months.
ALL is still the most common childhood cancer. But now, we can offer almost every child a cure — thanks to decades of research and a recent paradigm-shifting clinical trial from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).
This is the power of biomedical research. And this is what’s at stake if the federal government significantly cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About 60 percent of the COG’s funding comes from the federal government.
This funding enables us to conduct clinical trials of leading-edge pediatric cancer therapies. COG works with more than 220 institutions to carry out these trials, studying thousands of patients, and answering important questions about improving treatments and reducing side effects. It also allows us to gather important information about rare cancers by aggregating data from across all COG institutions. For kids and families, it means getting the most advanced treatments close to home.
Right now, the federal government is proposing significant cuts to research funding, including cuts for “indirect” research costs. Indirect costs support vital resources like lab space, medical support like pharmacies and assistants in clinics, as well as heating and electricity. They also cover many costs associated with clinical trials such as storing biospecimens and data management systems.
For the COG, these cuts would mean that many of our institutional partners would have to stop offering clinical trials because they could no longer afford to do so. It would mean fewer kids get the latest treatments, slower progress against childhood cancer, and in some cases, poorer outcomes for existing patients. This all adds up to the loss of all the progress we have made to date. We cannot afford to go backward.
I chose a career in research because I’ve seen the progress and I know the potential. I’ve also seen our failures: times when the cancer comes back or never responds to treatment. I’ve met too many children who never get to grow up, and too many survivors who bear the scars of treatment for the rest of their lives — life-altering side effects like heart problems, learning differences, secondary cancers, and infertility.
For me, those failures are ever-present and the driving force to do better. And research is the only way to improve outcomes for the next child who comes through the door.
The reality is that without federal funding, COG will cease to exist. And if we stop our work now, we have to accept that our current reality is good enough. But it is not good enough. Too many children still die of cancer or experience life-altering side effects.
At COG, we see a future where no child or adolescent dies of cancer and where survivors live healthy, fulfilling lives. To achieve that vision, we need our entire community — donors, families, scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, research participants — now more than ever. We humbly ask you to join us in standing up for federal funding for childhood cancer research.
Here’s what you can do:
We are deeply grateful for your support. COG could not do this work without you. Thank you for standing with us and for your continued commitment to advancing childhood cancer research.
Sincerely,
Doug Hawkins, MD
Group Chair, Children’s Oncology Group
When my 90-year-old father started his career as a pediatrician in 1960, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was uniformly fatal. The best a family could hope for was that their child would live for about eighteen months.
ALL is still the most common childhood cancer. But now, we can offer almost every child a cure — thanks to decades of research and a recent paradigm-shifting clinical trial from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).
This is the power of biomedical research. And this is what’s at stake if the federal government significantly cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About 60 percent of the COG’s funding comes from the federal government.
This funding enables us to conduct clinical trials of leading-edge pediatric cancer therapies. COG works with more than 220 institutions to carry out these trials, studying thousands of patients, and answering important questions about improving treatments and reducing side effects. It also allows us to gather important information about rare cancers by aggregating data from across all COG institutions. For kids and families, it means getting the most advanced treatments close to home.
Right now, the federal government is proposing significant cuts to research funding, including cuts for “indirect” research costs. Indirect costs support vital resources like lab space, medical support like pharmacies and assistants in clinics, as well as heating and electricity. They also cover many costs associated with clinical trials such as storing biospecimens and data management systems.
For the COG, these cuts would mean that many of our institutional partners would have to stop offering clinical trials because they could no longer afford to do so. It would mean fewer kids get the latest treatments, slower progress against childhood cancer, and in some cases, poorer outcomes for existing patients. This all adds up to the loss of all the progress we have made to date. We cannot afford to go backward.
I chose a career in research because I’ve seen the progress and I know the potential. I’ve also seen our failures: times when the cancer comes back or never responds to treatment. I’ve met too many children who never get to grow up, and too many survivors who bear the scars of treatment for the rest of their lives — life-altering side effects like heart problems, learning differences, secondary cancers, and infertility.
For me, those failures are ever-present and the driving force to do better. And research is the only way to improve outcomes for the next child who comes through the door.
The reality is that without federal funding, COG will cease to exist. And if we stop our work now, we have to accept that our current reality is good enough. But it is not good enough. Too many children still die of cancer or experience life-altering side effects.
At COG, we see a future where no child or adolescent dies of cancer and where survivors live healthy, fulfilling lives. To achieve that vision, we need our entire community — donors, families, scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, research participants — now more than ever. We humbly ask you to join us in standing up for federal funding for childhood cancer research.
Here’s what you can do:
- Speak up about the value and necessity of pediatric cancer research. Tell your community why it’s important and why progress is needed — and that we cannot make progress without NIH funding.
- Contact your elected leaders and share your story. Tell them how your family or a child in your community is impacted by cancer. Tell them the importance of research and why our current reality is not good enough.
- If you are able, make a donation to support our work. Philanthropic donations are more important than ever.
We are deeply grateful for your support. COG could not do this work without you. Thank you for standing with us and for your continued commitment to advancing childhood cancer research.
Sincerely,
Doug Hawkins, MD
Group Chair, Children’s Oncology Group