Keene Residents Rally for Celebration on the Hill
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2002–Even amongst a sea of purple tee shirts on the National Mall, 9- year-old Aaron Boss and 10-year-old Ian Lewis-Slammon stood out with their purple hair. Like many other participants at Thursday’s rally, Aaron and Ian were wearing the signature color of the American Cancer Society’s Celebration on the Hill.
Their parents, Keene residents Jim Boss and Susan Lewis, were selected as two of New Hampshire’s 10 Relay Community Ambassadors for the event.
The rally, which was held at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool, featured festive tents decorated for each state and a makeshift track with members from each state delegation walking at all times to symbolize the ongoing fight against cancer. An estimated 6,000 cancer volunteers, survivors and caregivers descended on Washington to show their commitment to the issue and to lobby their members of Congress for more funding for cancer research.
Lewis, a physician’s assistant for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Keene, said she has often delivered a diagnosis of cancer to her patients and felt it was important to attend the event because she would like to see more access for patient care, screening, and improved care for minorities.
“My biggest motivation for being here as a healthcare provider is that without research and funding, we’re not going to find a cure,” Lewis said. “I’m also here in memory of my friends, family and patients who have had cancer or passed away, and I really want to make a difference.”
Ian Lewis-Slammon brought photos of Emma Furlone, a five-year leukemia survivor, to show to legislators during his visit. Emma has been a classmate of Ian’s for the last five years.
“The point of this event is to show the power of people,” said Peg Camp, chief operating officer for the New England division of the American Cancer Society. “We want to put positive pressure on our legislators to recognize that there are issues related to cancer that they need to pay attention to.”
Camp said the goal of the Celebration on the Hill, the kickoff for an 18-month campaign, is to influence Congress to provide increased funding for the National Institute of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Center on Minority Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
The American Cancer Society also hopes to have the Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act passed by Congress this year, Camp said. Under this act, privately insured patients would receive the same access to colorectal cancer screenings that Medicare patients currently receive.
Jim Boss, who has been involved with the Relay for Life for 10 years and co-chaired the annual Keene relay with Lewis, said he first became an active volunteer after his father died from colorectal and liver cancer in 1983.
“This event is going to really show our leaders in Washington that there are so many people who are in it for the long run and Mr. Bush [George W.] said the other day in a letter that the only way to win the war on cancer is to fund it, and there are some critical money issues that are coming up,” said Boss.
His focus with the American Cancer Society over the last few years has been on behalf of survivors like his mother and all of the others who have been left behind after the loss of a loved one.
“The strength and the kindness of caregivers that goes into cancer patients, the recognition of the whole system, the network and the great work is really why I’m here today,” Boss said.
Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), whose own mother died of breast cancer, met with Lewis and Boss during their visit on Thursday.
“I think probably everybody knows someone who has suffered from some form of cancer,” Bass said in a statement. “Every effort should be made to prevent, diagnose, and provide access to affordable treatments for this difficult and often fatal disease.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
