BANGOR – The American Cancer Society has named Dan Bahr of Orrington, Lura Raymond of Orono and Mike Trafton of Corinth as ambassadors to represent their local communities at Celebration on the Hill 2006. The nationwide event will be held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 19-20, to engage members of Congress in the fight against cancer.

These Mainers will be among 10,000 fellow celebration ambassadors, cancer survivors, and volunteers from every congressional district in the country at the event hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

During the event, they will meet with lawmakers to demand that Congress make cancer a national priority by boosting the federal commitment to cancer research and programs. Participants will also converge upon the National Mall to share stories about how their lives have been touched by cancer.

Celebration Ambassadors are community leaders, survivors, caregivers, health professionals, cancer researchers and volunteers who believe that defeating cancer will require courageous policy decisions by government officials at the federal, state and local levels. For further information, visit acscan.org/celebration.

“Cancer is the most feared disease in America. We want our members of Congress to know that this fear is felt in every corner of Maine,” said Megan Hannan, American Cancer Society’s Director of Government Relations and Advocacy in Maine. “In 2006, an estimated 1,399,790 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 564,830 will die from the disease. In our state alone, we will see an estimated 7,910 new cases and 3,190 deaths. Dan Bahr, Lura Raymond and Mike Trafton know the personal side of these statistics. We are honored that they will be carrying our message about making cancer funding a national priority to members of Congress.”

The federal government plays a critical role in reducing the cancer burden on this country. In December, Congress passed legislation that cut the budget of the National Institutes of Health for the first time in 35 years and reduced funding for cancer research for the first time in a decade.

Ambassadors will work to reduce cancer’s disproportionate burden on the underserved by asking Congress to reauthorize and expand the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. By reauthorizing the program, states will have more flexibility to reach eligible women who are most in need. Increasing funding by just $45 million would enable the program to serve an additional 130,000 or more women.

Dan Bahr’s 35 years of working in emergency medical services has included stints as an EMT, paramedic, administrator and health educator. Late in 2002 Bahr was diagnosed with throat cancer that required a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. “I was told that the therapy might render me unable to speak, because of severe burning to the vocal chords.” Nonetheless Bahr made it through the treatments, his ability to speak returned and he went back to school for a degree in community health education. “Today I am cancer-free,” he reports, “And my goal is to give back to the system of care that literally saved my life.”

Towards that end, Bahr serves as a member of the society’s advocacy committee in Maine, volunteers at a local cancer center, and co-chairs the 2006 Relay For Life in Ellsworth.

Lura Raymond, a college student who has been participating in Relay For Life since she was in the fourth grade, says that her story is one of hope as well as loss. “When I was five years old,” said Raymond, “my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. From then until the day we lost her three years later, not a day went by in which she did not smile. That smile kept her going and gave us hope.”

After her mother’s death, Raymond and other family members became involved with Relay For Life. “Everyone [at Relay] had the same passion for fighting cancer that [we] did,” she said. “Relay makes you realize that you are not alone.”

Raymond helped establish the first Relay at UMaine in 2005, and now serves on the school’s colleges against cancer committee. “I am doing what my mom did through her treatment – not giving up hope,” she said.

Mike Trafton has been a middle school social studies teacher for more than 20 years. He became involved with the American Cancer Society about six years ago, after one of his students was diagnosed with cancer and also after he had a melanoma removed. “The fight against cancer became a key part of both my work life and my family life,” he said.

For more information any time, call toll free (800) ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.