The American Cancer Society’s nationwide bus tour calling for more government funding of cancer research rolls into Iowa this weekend. Peggy Huppert of Des Moines is a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society’s Iowa chapter.
“The central message of the ‘Fight Back Express’ is if one person can fight cancer, a nation can defeat it,” Huppert says. While Huppert and others in the Cancer Society are pressing congress to allow the F.D.A. to regulate cigarettes like a drug — based on the nicotine content of cigarettes, the main goal of the bus tour is to call attention to the amount of federal funds being spent on cancer research.
“Funding for cancer research has been steady for the last six years, which with inflation means that it’s actually been eroded significantly,” Huppert says. The bus tour began in May and will make stops in 48 states before the November election. Huppert says tour organizers hope those who are interested in the issue of cancer research will come out to see the bus and learn more about lobbying politicians.
“Many candidates like to talk about how this is important to them, but we’d like to press them for a little more specifics and to hold elected officials accountable for how they actually vote on issues, so we want to try to get beyond the rhetoric,” she says. “They’re all pretty good at the rhetoric.”
The American Cancer Society’s bus tour stops at Union Station in Davenport at 9 o’clock Saturday morning. It’ll be at the Dubuque County Fair on Saturday afternoon.
Here’s a list of other stops: in the Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls on Sunday, July 27 from 10-11 a.m.; at the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville on Sunday, July 27 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.; in Des Moines at the Iowa State Capitol on Monday, July 28 from 9:15-9:30 a.m.; in Des Moines at Nollen Plaza on Monday, July 28 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.; at the Clear Lake Bank and Trust on Main Street in Clear Lake on Monday, July 28 from 5-6 p.m.