Get the Word Out About Liver Cancer on World Cancer Day!

Get the Word Out About Liver Cancer on World Cancer Day!

Dear Advocates:

Thursday, February 4th is World Cancer AwarenessDay. What a great opportunity this is to help Dr. Mark Li, President of the Chinese American Medical Society, get the word out about liver cancer! Please read the letter from Dr. Li below and visit his website, http://livercancerfree.org/ to send letters to your representatives asking for their support for the Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Prevention Act (HR 3974) and for increased appropriations for viral hepatitis prevention programs at the CDCand NIH!

The Liver Cancer Free Campaign

Together we Can

Are you aware of these FACTS?



· Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world.

· 80% of liver cancers are caused by Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C infections.

· Hepatitis B Virus is second only to tobacco as a cause of cancer in humans.

· Hepatitis C Virus is the numberone cause of liver cancer in the USA.

· It took $143M to control TB, but only $18M had been given to control Viral Hepatitis

I am a Primary Care Physician in practice for 28 years. In my work, I have experienced firsthand the impact and ravages of hepatitis infection on my patients and their families. I have seen patients die prematurely early of liver cancer caused by chronic hepatitis infection, leaving behind young children, mourned by their families and friends. Very often, they were in shock because they were unaware of their disease which did not exhibit any symptoms until it has progressed to a late stage beyond cure. And yet much of that pain and suffering could be avoided because hepatitis infection could be prevented, treated and controlled. Given adequate resources, education, prevention and surveillance programs can be put in place to stamp out hepatitis infection and liver cancer.

Because hepatitis is a silent disease, it is often ignored; its deadliness as a major cause of liver cancer overlooked, and its danger as a public health threat underestimated. As a result, funding for programs to control the spread of hepatitis infection has long been far from adequate. As a practitioner, I am compelled to act to raise awareness, to educate, to screen, to protect and to treat my patients. However, I believe that my personal efforts are insignificant. I am convinced that if we act together, we have more voice; we can be heard. Together we will have more strength. Our concerted efforts will impress our policy makers, and drive home the need for increased public funding for hepatitis programs. Driven by the conviction that "Together We Can", I am reaching out to you and through you to your friends, to write to your congressional representatives to petition for increased funding to CDC and NIH. This will enable the implementation of much needed research, prevention, and surveillance programs to control the spread of the deadly disease of hepatitis infection and to reduce the mortality and morbidity of liver cancers.

Please visit http://livercancerfree.org/ for more information.

Simply put in your name and address with zip code and the program will automatically match it to the corresponding district and send an email to your congressional representatives. While you are on livercancerfree.org, please click on the link to the Harvard Cancer Prevention website and join their over 5 million members to sign an e-petition to Congress.

Kindly forward this email to as many contacts as you can.

Sincerely

Mark Li MD
Coordinator January 28, 2010