The beauty of this work is that this is greater than any one of us. We each rely on one another to create a narrative. That is the essence of this work and this team. The team just before taking our priorities to the Hill.
(Back Row Left to Right): Paula Warlick, Oklahoma grassroots manager for ACS CAN; Michelle Brown, Oklahoma state lead ambassador for ACS CAN from Dist. 2, Desarae Simmons, Dist. 3; Jamie Gross, Dist. 5; Ellen Tillery, Dist. 1; Dawn Watson, Oklahoma government relations director for ACS CAN.
(Front Row Left to Right): Taylor Crawford, Dist. 2, Brittney Hodges, Dist. 4; Victoria Gleason, Dist. 2; Lon Kruger, OU men’s basketball coach; Barbara Miles, Kruger’s wife.
Urge Federal Lawmakers to Make Cancer a Top Priority
More than 750 cancer patients, survivors, volunteers and staff from all 50 states gathered in Washington, D.C. with a common goal as part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Leadership Summit and Lobby Day from September 27-30, 2015. Among this group was Taylor Crawford, a 21-year-old member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Through a partnership between the Gates Millennium Scholars Program and ACS CAN, Crawford served alongside a team of Oklahoma advocates lobbying on Capitol Hill on September 29. Their mission: To make the fight against cancer a national priority.
“The reality of the situation is that we all live within one degree of cancer,” said Crawford. “We all know someone who has been affected by this disease—a coworker, family member, or friend. Those are the stories we bring.”
The Oklahoma ACS CAN team along with the University of Oklahoma’s men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger and his wife, Barbara, took their One Degree stories to their meetings with members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation and their staff. In the meetings with Senator James Lankford, Congressman Markwayne Mullin and staff members from the offices of Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressman Jim Bridenstine, Crawford and fellow ACS CAN advocates discussed specific priorities necessary to reach their goals. These lifesaving policies include increasing medical research funding dollars for the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute over the next two years, supporting legislation to improve patient quality of life, and cosponsoring legislation to make colorectal cancer screenings more affordable for seniors.
“These priorities are crucial to decreasing the impact of cancer moving forward,” said Crawford. ”Cancer is a disease that still kills 1,600 people a day in this country. This is incredibly important for tribal members as cancer continues to have a major impact on our population as well.”
Aside from a full day of advocating, Crawford also took part in a Lights of HOPE ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool. The ceremony of reflection was a powerful presence—complete with more than 20,000 luminaries lit in honor of lives lost to cancer.