Pediatric cancer research gets a boost with license renewal
(Harrisburg) — Legislation to provide a boost for research into pediatric cancer in Pennsylvania has been signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf.
The law gives Pennsylvanians the option to make a five dollar donation for pediatric cancer research when electronically renewing a drivers’s license, registration, or state ID.
During the just-recessed legislative session, State Senator Scott Martin told his fellow lawmakers that pediatric cancer continues to take a deadly toll.
“Pediatric cancer is the number one cause of death by disease among U.S. children and every year 91,250 kids die from pediatric cancer worldwide,” he said.
Martin says the lack of funding is a major obstacle, with only 4 percent of total research dollars allocated for pediatric cancer and only three drugs approved in the last 20 years.