When Dani Grady's breast cancer was diagnosed, she was 29. It nearly killed her. Today, thanks to modern medicine, Dani leads a full life supporting other cancer patients and their families through The ThriverÆs Network at the U.C., San Diego Medical Center. She gardens, enjoys family lifeûand wonders whatÆs going on in Washington. ôWhat I read makes me think the Clinton Administration doesnÆt understand that Ward Valley is a lifeline for cancer patients. How else can you explain its refusal to let California build an urgently needed waste disposal facility there?ö Why does Dani care about Ward Valley? Cancer research and treatment produce low-level radioactive waste which must be disposed of in special facilities. Without such facilities, life-saving work at hospitals and laboratories will slow down or stop altogether. This is already happening in California. And scarce tax dollars intended for medical research are being diverted to pay for waste storage in populated, urban locationsûcreating yet another health problem. Politics vs. The Experts Shortly after taking office, the Clinton Administration stopped progress cold on the Ward Valley project. Five years later, despite our pleas, groundbreaking is not even close. Why has the Administration chosen to ignore us, the National Academy of Sciences, the California Supreme Court, the USGS and other experts who agree Ward Valley is safe and can be built now? Because a handful of politically influential Hollywood-funded activists disagree, and they have the AdministrationÆs ear. Congress Must Act Now Just last week, the General Accounting Office concluded that the Department of InteriorÆs latest excuses for delay are baseless. ShouldnÆt the rights of cancer patients count for more than the misguided political agenda of Hollywood activists? ItÆs time for Congress to put an end to this intolerable situation. On behalf of the one-in-three Americans who will one day battle cancer, we ask you to support S. 964, ôThe Ward Valley Land Transfer Act.ö James Berkovec, Ph.D. After a 36 year career as an engineer, Jim Berkovec was looking forward to the year of 1989 and the start of an active retirement. His plans included a modest amount of part time professional employment, a great deal of travelling, a lot of tennis, and a lot of leisure time for hobbies. Skin cancer, melanoma, abruptly changed those plans two years later. With a poor prognosis, JimÆs focus shifted from leisure to survival, from healthful living to battling cancer. The skirmishes started with the initial surgery and continued with surgical removal of lymph nodes and a lung metastasis, an experimental vaccine program at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, and additional surgery for an intestinal metastasis and another lung metastasis. During the course of his cancer battle, Jim became a strong advocate for cancer patients and especially for increased funding for cancer research to find a cure for cancer. No one can foretell how this personal battle will play out or how it will end, but in the meantime, the search for a cure must continue and must be expanded. In JimÆs words ôRecent advances in Medical science have placed a cure for cancer within reach. We must move faster to convert this newfound knowledge into clinical practice, to find a cure for cancer rapidly and to stop its enormous death toll. An annual U. S. death toll of 550,000 cannot be allowed to continue. We will find a cure for cancer and we can and should do it as quickly as possible. We owe it to the millions of Americans who have been cut down by cancer. We owe it to the loved ones and friends who have gone down the cancer road ahead of us. We owe it to ourselves and to the millions of cancer patients not yet diagnosed. To do any less is criminal.ö