Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund (National Research Center for Women & Families)

Help U.S. children and adults, including military families, reduce their risks of getting all types of cancer and assists them in choosing the safest and most effective treatments.

Why do we exist?

If your life has been touched by cancer, you want to know how to prevent cancer, how to reduce the chances of cancer coming back after being treated for it, or how to decide the best treatment for yourself or someone you care about.  We help you cut through the confusion and conflicting headlines about mammograms, prostate cancer screening, the risk of getting cancer from chemicals in baby bottles or soda cans, the latest treatments -- and more. We know how hard it is to know who or what to believe on these and many other important health and safety issues in your life.

All of us need help in the form of unbiased, understandable information that we can use to protect ourselves and our loved ones from cancer and to get the best possible treatment today – not just finding a cure some day in the future.  And policy makers need to know which programs and policies will really prevent cancer and improve treatments for as many adults and children as possible.

That is the mission of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund of the National Research Center for Women & Families. We bring accurate, useful, clear information to the public, to policy makers, and to the media -- knowledge that will make a difference to you and your family. We are uniquely effective in providing information to those who need it, and making sure that the voices of families across the country are heard when policy decisions are being made that affect our lives and our health everyday.  We do not accept funding or support from companies that make medical products or treatments or the products that we scrutinize, so you can trust our judgment when we tell you what works and what doesn’t, and what is safe and what isn’t.  And, we provide our information for free to the public. 

 If you want to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy and safe, we’re there to help you. 

What have you accomplished?

Have you ever wondered what treatment is best for you or a loved one?  NRC for Women & Families can help you. We receive calls and letters from women and men across the country every day asking specific health questions. In many cases, advertisements had convinced them to take medications that were not helping and were even harming them.  Some were shopping for medical products online without a doctor’s care, or told us that their health providers gave conflicting advice or provided no information about the risks of treatments they were considering.  Whether you want to know if a particular treatment is safe for your child; if a new health product is as great as the ads say; whether daycare is bad for your baby; or what treatment options are available for your disease, we get you the information you need to help you make an informed choice.

Here’s one example.  A young woman asked for our help when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Her mom needed to decide whether to try an experimental treatment or not.  The family felt overwhelmed, not knowing what to do.  We provided information about the risks and benefits of standard treatment and helped her understand the risk of participating in an experimental treatment, where the risks and benefits were unknown.  Her daughter told us that we made “a world of difference to my mom,” helping her make a decision that she felt comfortable with.  We’re glad to say that her mom is doing well physically and emotionally.

We feel great when we can help individual women and their families, but we don’t stop there.  We also work to change policies so that drug companies don’t mislead you about the risks and benefits of their products, and so that insurance companies give patients a range of safe choices for their medical treatment.  And, we work to make sure policy makers are using tax dollars wisely to help real people in their daily lives.

NRC for Women & Families is your advocate for critically-needed policies and programs to improve the health and well-being of women, children and families. We bring attention to important research findings on issues ranging from children and anti-depressants to surgical options for breast cancer. We testify before Congress on health policies that are needed to help women and families; meet with Members of Congress and their staff; and provide expert information that is used by newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio programs, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, ABC, CNN, Fox News, National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Company, BBC, Urban Radio Network, and MSNBC.

Here are some of the ways that NRC is working every day to help improve the lives of women, children and families:

• Breast Cancer Patients Have Choices: a project to develop and distribute free materials to bring the latest information on breast cancer treatment options to women and families. Our goal is simple: make sure that all patients have the information they need to make informed choices, regardless of their income, education, where they live, the language that they speak, or where they go for medical treatment. In the first few months, tens of thousands of our free booklets have been used by patients across the country.  One of these women told us “I can’t thank you enough for helping me understand what my choices are – and helping my family understand too.”
• News You Can Use To Improve Your Health. When new research comes out -- on weight loss strategies, mammograms, hormone therapy, painkillers, mercury in tuna, or antidepressants and suicide -- the news reports can be confusing or misleading. Or they can miss the story completely. Every day women thank us for helping them find out what the research really means, and what it means for them and their families.
• Work and Family. Millions of American women balance work and family, but unpredictable school schedules, concerns about the long-term effects of child care, the responsibilities of caring for a sick or disabled family member, and other changes make that juggling act increasingly stressful. NRC works with families and experts from across the country to help ensure that families get the information, programs, and policies they need. And you can read about what the latest findings really mean on our website.
• Saving Social Security for Children and the Disabled. Most people think of Social Security as a retirement program, but did you know that the lives of millions of children and disabled adults also depend on Social Security? As the debate over reforming the program continues, we work to ensure that it will still provide a safety net for children whose parents have died and disabled children and adults who desperately need support.
• Safety of Medical Products. By explaining what is known and unknown about the safety of prescription drugs and medical implants, testifying before the FDA and Congress, working with consumer and patient organizations, and talking to the media and government officials, NRC works to make sure medical products are safe and effective, and persuades the media to provide more balanced information to the public.  We help you to know the risks and benefits before you put it in your body.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?