Dear Senators Kyle, McCain and Congressman Pastor
Please support $125 million for FY 2010 for the Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense.

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) for prostate cancer is on the cutting-edge of research. Congress needs to reward the program?s efficiency, effectiveness, innovation and accountability with the full funding needed by the CDMRP program.

While advances in research have helped reduce the annual prostate cancer death rate by 40 percent, more than 28,000 American men died from this disease last year?that?s one death every 18 minutes. Prostate cancer continues to be the most non-skin cancer diagnosed in men and is the second cause of cancer death in males after lung cancer.

As a 17 year survivor and patient advocate, I appreciate your attention to my request and thank you in advance for your support. I look forward to hearing back from you regarding your efforts to support the battle against cancer.

Sincerely

Rafael Valle