Closing of 2015 Goal Letter Brings Time to Thank and Time to Ask Why
Posted by Dusty Weaver on October 9th, 2005
Since visiting Congress March 15, 2005 during the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) Lobby Day, Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C3) advocates worked hard to get their Senators and Representatives to sign a letter from Congress to the President in support of the Administration’s goal of eliminating cancer death and suffering by the year 2015. The closing and sending of the letter brings the time to thank those who did sign and the time to ask why to those who did not sign.
Below are suggested letters you can send to your Senators and Representative. Feel free to make it your own by making changes as you see fit. Be sure to add the name and address of you Senator or Representative at the beginning, to add your name and contact informaition at the end and to make the appropriate change in the third paragraph.
Go here to find out if your Senators and Representative signed the 2015 goal letter.
Example letter to Senators who signed:
>Thank you for joining 92 of your Senate colleagues in signing a letter to the President in support of the Administration’s goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by the year 2015. A similar letter was also sent to the President from 275 Members of the House of Representatives.
>Thanks to prior investments in cancer research and programs, we can now actually envision a time when the outcomes of cancer — suffering and death — can be eliminated. While the 2015 goal is clearly ambitious, we will make real progress towards it if we make cancer a higher national priority and make the right policy choices.
>As a (cancer survivor)(caregiver for someone with cancer) I thank you again for your support. I look forward to working with you to make the 2015 goal a reality.
Example letter to Senators who did not sign:
>The National Cancer Institute (NCI) set a goal of eliminating cancer death and suffering by the year 2015. Thanks to prior investments in cancer research and programs, we are making remarkable progress in the fight against cancer. Achieving the 2015 goal is now within our reach if we make cancer a higher national priority and make the right policy choices.
>This September 92 of your colleagues in the Senate signed and sent a letter to the President to express their commitment to and support of the NCI’s goal. I am disappointed to know that you were one of the eight Senators who did not sign the letter.
>As a (cancer survivor)(caregiver for someone with cancer) I ask you to tell me why you did not demonstrate your commitment to and support of our country’s efforts to eradicate cancer by signing the letter to the President.
Example letter to Representatives who signed:
>Thank you for joining 275 of your colleagues in the House of Representatives in signing a letter to the President in support of the Administration’s goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by the year 2015. A similar letter was also sent to the President from 92 Senators.
>Thanks to prior investments in cancer research and programs, we can now actually envision a time when the outcomes of cancer — suffering and death — can be eliminated. While the 2015 goal is clearly ambitious, we will make real progress towards it if we make cancer a higher national priority and make the right policy choices.
>As a (cancer survivor)(caregiver for someone with cancer) I thank you again for your support. I look forward to working with you to make the 2015 goal a reality.
Example letter to Representatives who did not sign:
>The National Cancer Institute (NCI) set a goal of eliminating cancer death and suffering by the year 2015. Thanks to prior investments in cancer research and programs, we are making remarkable progress in the fight against cancer. Achieving the 2015 goal is now within our reach if we make cancer a higher national priority and make the right policy choices.
>This September 280 of your colleagues in the House of Representatives signed and sent a letter to the President to express their commitment to and support of the NCI’s goal. I am disappointed to know that you were one of the 160 Members who did not sign the letter.
>As a (cancer survivor)(caregiver for someone with cancer) I ask you to tell me why you did not demonstrate your commitment to and support of our country’s efforts to eradicate cancer by signing the letter to the President.




