[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S7173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER ACT

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to talk 
about 8-year-old Jenessa Byers, known as ``Boey'' by her friends and 
family.
  Last year, Boey was diagnosed with a very rare childhood cancer 
called rhabdomyosarcoma. Showing tremendous courage and strength as she 
underwent radiation and chemotherapy, Boey battled the cancer into 
remission. Unfortunately, that cancer returned and Boey is back in 
treatment undergoing radiation and chemotherapy once again.
  While I was in Oregon over the recess, I had a chance to visit with 
Boey and her family at the Children's Cancer Center at Doernbecher 
Children's Hospital, as well as with other children at the hospital who 
are battling a variety of childhood cancers. Boey refers to herself as 
a warrior in the fight against cancer, and there is no doubt about it, 
Boey is a warrior. As I witnessed firsthand when I visited her last 
week, she is fighting the cancer as hard as she can. This in itself 
makes Boey a very brave and very special little girl.
  But what makes her especially amazing is that in spite of what she is 
going through, Boey has been working tirelessly to help other children 
who are also battling cancer. Each month, she donates special bears and 
handmade cards titled ``Be Strong'' to other children at the hospital. 
The day before her eighth birthday last month, Boey participated as a 
survivor in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, for which she 
raised over $500. In addition, she has raised money to help fight 
cancer on a local radiothon, and she has raised awareness using her own 
videos, which she has posted on YouTube.
  Because of Boey's incredible compassion and determination to help the 
other children fighting cancer, she was recently asked to be a 
spokesperson for Doernbecher Children's Hospital. On May 31, she spoke 
about her experiences at a reception for the Children's Miracle 
Network. Just this past weekend, she was featured in a segment of the 
Doernbecher Children's Miracle Network Telethon.
  While I was visiting Boey, she asked me to cosponsor the Conquer 
Childhood Cancer Act. Introduced by Senators Reed and Coleman, this act 
would provide critical resources for the treatment, prevention, and 
cure of childhood cancer. The act would authorize $150 million over a 
5-year period to expand support for biomedical research programs of the 
existing National Cancer Institute-designated multicenter national 
infrastructure for pediatric cancer research. It would also establish a 
population-based national childhood cancer registry; enable researchers 
to more accurately study the incidence of childhood cancers and long-
term effects of treatments; and provide funding for informational and 
educational services to families coping with a diagnosis of childhood 
cancer. The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act brings hope to the more than 
12,500 children who are diagnosed with cancer each year, as well as 
more than 40,000 children and adolescents currently being treated for 
childhood cancers.
  On behalf of Boey and the other courageous and wonderful children I 
met at Doernbecher Children's Hospital recently, and every child with 
cancer, I would like to announce that I am cosponsoring the Conquer 
Childhood Cancer Act. I will be working with my colleagues to get this 
bill signed into law so that we can find a cure for childhood cancer 
once and for all.

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