WHEREAS, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children and is detected in more than 15,000 of our country's sons and daughters every year; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has one of the highest rates of childhood cancer in the nation, with 60 Maine children diagnosed with cancer annually; and

WHEREAS, thanks to ongoing advances in research and treatment, the five-year survival rate for all childhood cancers has climbed from less than 50 percent to 80 percent over the last several decades; and