ECAN’s Medical Research Campaign

What our Campaign Will Do: The United States Congress appropriated $90 million dollars this year for a Cancer Research Program administered by the Department of Defense.  Only researchers working on 16 specific cancer designations can apply for that funding. Today, Esophageal Cancer is not on that list of eligible cancers.

Our campaign seeks to change that – and we have a good chance of making it happen.  When we do, millions of dollars in cancer research funding could become available to researchers in Esophageal Cancer who today struggle to find a source to finance the work they need to do.

Your Support Made this Campaign Possible – Now Your Voice is Needed

Because of generous contributions from ECAN supporters, we were able to raise the $50,000 needed to wage this campaign to get Esophageal Cancer added to the list of eligible cancers.

Now we need you to stand ready to reach out to your elected representatives in Congress to let them know how much this matters to you.  Sign up now to get ECAN’s Action Alerts that will give you the tools, message, and heads-up to reach out when it matters most!

Why it Matters

Research funding makes a difference.  In 2016, the National Cancer Institute spent $1,669 on medical research into Esophageal Cancer for each death due to this devastating disease.  It amounted to just one-half of a percent of the total Federal cancer research budget.  But Esophageal Cancer is responsible for 2.6% of all of the cancer deaths in this country.

Compare that to the $12,802 spent that year on breast cancer research for every death caused by that terrible disease.  That amounts to 9.9% of the Federal cancer research budget.  Breast cancer causes 6.8% of all U.S. cancer deaths, even though many more are diagnosed with the disease.  It shows what a difference research funding can make!  A breast cancer diagnosis used to be viewed as a death sentence – today its survival rate is 89.7%.  The survival rate for Esophageal Cancer is under 19%.  We desperately need funding for more research into Esophageal Cancer.  Adding Esophageal Cancer to this Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Fund is our best hope to do that.