Throughout our 25th anniversary year, we’re featuring champions who’ve been nominated by the childhood cancer community for their outstanding contributions toward our mission of improving the lives of children with cancer and survivors.
Deborah Pryce served in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2009, during which she spearheaded one of the first major pieces of childhood cancer legislation — named in honor of her daughter Caroline.
“Congresswoman Pryce served for 16 years, retiring from public service in 2009. During her time in office, she quickly rose through the ranks of leadership and would become Chair of the House Republican Conference. Given all this success, it is hard to fathom that in the midst of this stellar career, she was dealt a crippling blow when she learned that her darling young daughter Caroline had cancer,” said Children’s Cancer Cause board member Lori Salley Ring, who served as Rep. Pryce’s Chief of Staff.
Caroline passed away from neuroblastoma at age nine.
“Instead of ending her Congressional career – a consideration she surely faced - Deborah Pryce turned this personal tragedy into positive action,” Lori recounts. “She founded Hope Street Kids to fund pediatric cancer research, and she became the leading advocate for children with cancer in the halls of Congress.”
In July of 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act into law, authorizing appropriations of up to $30 million for each fiscal year from 2009-2013 to accelerate advancements in pediatric cancer research.
Shortly after her retirement from Congress, we recognized Rep. Pryce with an advocacy award, and she spoke in detail about her determination to do what she could to improve the outlook for the next child diagnosed with cancer.
Here’s an excerpt from her remarks at that event in 2010:
“My position in Congress didn’t make my story or our experience much different than anyone else who suffers the horrors of childhood cancer.
But the support I received from my colleagues in Congress – on both sides of the aisle – was extraordinary. The strength I gained from the warm embrace I received from my colleagues allowed me to move on and do something with my grief and my new, unwanted knowledge of pediatric oncology.
And, that’s when I met Dr. Susan Weiner of the Children’s Cause and others who helped me become an advocate for this cause. In the remaining 8 years of my Congressional career we did some great things to raise awareness and move legislation to try to help kids with cancer. The Children’s Cause was there every step of the way and provided thoughtful insights to help us shape policy.
Pediatric cancer is about as non-partisan as it gets. One of my last acts as a Member of Congress was to get the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act signed into law. The bill passed unanimously – every Republican and every Democrat voted ‘yes.’”
Recognizing 25 years of childhood cancer champions in Congress:
When Children’s Cancer Cause was founded in 1999, the urgency and perspectives of childhood cancer families on the need for new treatments was largely absent in national cancer policy debates. Thanks to the leadership of champions in Congress like Deborah Pryce and so many of her colleagues over the years, including members of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, we are no longer a community without a voice.
The impact of our work can be measured in so many ways: increased federal research dollars, the passage of major pieces of legislation, and more children surviving cancer than ever before.