Families Against Cancer & Toxics

Our present understanding of what causes many cancers is grossly inadequate. Currently there is very little data being collected for cancer registries and other epidemiological resources. Many parents of children with cancer are surprised that no one asked them any questions that might yeild clues about what causes their child's type of cancer. Simple facts like residential history, parent's occupational history, and exposures to known carcinogens are not being collected. We should also invest more effort into tumor banking, as future technology may shed light on today's cancers.

There is hope. The Trust for America's Health is a non-profit organization lobbying for a stronger public heath system. They have been successful at convincing Congress to allot more $45 million towards a national health tracking network that will link efforts of individual states, plus increase the areas of focuse. In particular, they have just released their report examining how well state health agencies are doing in their efforts to track, control and prevent cancer, and awards grades on a state-by-state basis. See their website for more information.