"Moving forward, we must maintain the focus on advancing both the science and practice of cancer care while aligning our efforts to move Congress to authorize the $700 million requested by the President for cancer research initiatives. Substantial, predictable financial support is essential to sustain the fight to eradicate cancer," said Dr. Haffty.

ASTRO has encouraged leaders of the moonshot initiative to include radiation oncology in discussions and partnerships since the effort was first announced in President Obama's 2016 State of the Union address. In January and February, ASTRO pledged its support of the initiative and its inclusion in the President's FY2017 budget. In April, ASTRO leadership met with Greg Simon, Executive Director of the CMI, to discuss the important role for radiation oncology in the moonshot. In May, nearly 100 ASTRO members convened on Capitol Hill to encourage members of Congress to invest in cancer research. In June, Dr. Haffty and Tim Williams, MD, FASTRO, also a former Chair of ASTRO, participated in the Cancer Moonshot Summit in Washington, D.C., and ASTRO concurrently held a virtual summit via Twitter to gather and discuss research ideas, many of which were submitted to the National Cancer Institute through its Cancer Research Ideas portal. In September, ASTRO leadership submitted a letter to Simon expressing its concern that only a single radiation oncologist was included in any of the Blue Ribbon Panel working groups and recommending that the Panel's final recommendations more fully discuss the role of radiation therapy in combination therapy.

ABOUT ASTRO
ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologist, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (www.redjournal.org), Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org) and Advances in Radiation Oncology (www.advancesradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers (www.rtanswers.org); and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non profit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit www.astro.org.

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