ASTRO holds first legislative training program in Washington, D.C.

May 5 2004

Members of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology converged on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last week for the Society’s inaugural legislative training and advocacy program. During the two-day event, 35 ASTRO members from 19 states met with more than 70 U.S. Senators, Representatives and congressional staff to promote the Society’s legislative priorities, including increased funding for cancer research, enacting patient safety legislation and correcting the fundamentally flawed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

Participants heard from key public policy officials and received briefings on the federal legislative and regulatory processes. ASTRO also conducted a widely attended “High-Tech High-Touch” Cancer Symposium to educate congressional health aides on the Society, the critical role of radiation oncologists in treating cancer patients and some of the new tools and techniques used by radiation oncologists to treat cancer.

“Radiation oncology is an extremely important, but often overlooked specialty,” said Prabhakar Tripuraneni, M.D., ASTRO President-elect and a radiation oncologist at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif. “I think our members did an excellent job helping educate their congressional representatives and staff members about the critical role we play in caring for patients with cancer and other diseases.”