A story about smart, courageous women; a heroic Senator; and a revolutionary way to fund research
by Dawn Anderson
PART TWO
In Part One of our story, we learned about how a breast cancer research program wound up being housed at the Department of Defense and that the women who made that happen also made sure they had a seat at the table when it came time to decide how the money got spent.
In this installment, I’ll explain – briefly, because the weeds can get a little thick – the process that has to be followed every year to be sure the program is funded. I’ll tell you why this unicorn of a program is different from research done at the NIH or other research programs and what you can do to help ensure it continues to save women’s lives!
Here’s how we have to “feed” our unicorn – every year. It all starts with sponsors and a LETTER (remember those?). Advocates and Leaders at the National Breast Cancer Coalition begin by securing sponsors in both the Senate and House of Representatives for this funding request. Those sponsors then circulate what is known as a “Dear Colleague” letter, explaining why this funding is so important and asking their colleagues to support the request for the funding by signing on to the letter. There is usually not a lot of time to collect these signatures, so once the letter is out, that’s when you’ll hear from us, asking you to urgently call your representatives. Seriously, it’s one of those things that can’t be put on your “to do” list for a week or two. Everyone who’s signing on to the letter has a deadline they have to do it by and therefore . . . so do we!
And who does that letter go to? (Try not to peek but if you’re going to, look back to Part One and Senator Tom Harkin.) The “Dear Colleague” letter goes to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. These committees hold the purse strings for several departments in government – but for our purposes, we are interested in the Defense subcommittee. We have to convince them to give us that money every year. If Wisconsin has a member that’s on that committee, and that person happens to be one of our Senators, or your House Representative, then you have a really important role in helping us convince them to support the request.
There has never been a year when the work of our advocates (again, that means you) hasn’t been able to ensure that funding. However, there have been some very close calls that might have meant the end of the program. And that would be terrible, because our unicorn is so special.
You’ll hear the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program described as “innovative”, “unique” (OF COURSE! That’s what a unicorn IS), and “efficient”. It is all of those. Bullet points, please.
- As mentioned – it includes, in a really meaningful way, breast cancer survivors in how the money gets spent. Researchers submit their ideas and those proposals are reviewed by survivors and scientists. It is a partnership.
- It funds research proposals that reflect “out of the box” thinking. Areas that may have been overlooked in research before. Ideas that might be high risk, but would also have a high reward – a big impact on saving lives. (Read more HERE)
- It is transparent. Check out the website and you can search who got funded, how much they got and the results of their work. You can search your state and see every person and place that received money from the program. (Wisconsin institutions have gotten almost $47 million to date!)
- Over 90% of the money goes directly to research. Less than 10% in administration costs is a very efficient use of the money.
Every story deserves a happy ending. As Dr. Love was quoted in Part One of this tale, “Against all odds, we succeeded.” But we have to succeed again and again and again, every year. As unique as this research program is, the funding for it is never guaranteed. The results are worth fighting for though – so please, when you see a Facebook post, or a Tweet, or get an email from us asking you to CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES NOW, make it a priority. It will only take a minute or two for you to help us continue keeping our unicorn fed.