As a volunteer for the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), I am writing to ask your support of Representative Carolyn Maloney's letter to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that they agree to the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference on the final version of the Fiscal 2020 Defense Appropriations bill. Melanoma is a unique and major threat to our military community, as the armed forces continue with their missions in environments of extreme solar radiation. Decades of studies from WWII to the current generation of the military population confirm the linkage of exposure to the development of deadly melanoma. A 2000 "Annals of Epidemiology" study comparing mortality among WWII veterans of the Pacific and European Theaters found that Pacific Theater Prisoner of War veterans had an estimated 3-fold higher risk of dying from melanoma than veterans of the European Theater. The article concluded that these data are "consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to high levels of solar radiation in young adulthood is associated with a higher risk of melanoma mortality. According to The Pulse, the online source for the Uniformed Services University, “melanoma is the most significant cancer to affect the active duty military population.” A Vanderbilt School of Medicine study--citing the following statistics--only 22 percent of military personnel were made aware of the risks of sun exposure; while 77 percent reported being exposed to bright sunlight for more than 4 hours a day, with only 27 percent having regular access to sunscreen—concluded: “The past decade of United States’ combat missions, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, have occurred at a more equatorial latitude than the mean center of the United States population, increasing the potential for ultraviolent irradiance and the development of skin cancer.” Recent studies have borne out these conclusions. According to Health.mil, a 10-year surveillance study from 2005 through 2014 showed that malignant melanoma was one of the most frequent cancer diagnoses among male service members, and the second most frequent cancer diagnosis for female service members. And a 2014 Military Medicine Study found that the overall incidence rate of melanoma in active duty military personnel between 2000 and 2007 was 62 percent greater than among the general population during the same period. i ask that you work with your colleagues and cosponsor and support the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference in the final Fiscal Year 2020 Department of Defense Appropriations bill. Thank you for your attention to this important request.  

As a volunteer for the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), I am writing to ask your support of Representative Carolyn Maloney's letter to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that they agree to the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference on the final version of the Fiscal 2020 Defense Appropriations bill. Earlier this year, Representative Carolyn Maloney led a letter signed by 21 Members of the House to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that the Subcommittee provide $20 million for the PRMRP in its Fiscal 2020 Defense Appropriations bill. The House Appropriations Committee included instead $10 million for the PRMRP, the same as the Fiscal 2019 level for the program. Melanoma is a unique and major threat to our military community, as the armed forces continue with their missions in environments of extreme solar radiation. Decades of studies from WWII to the current generation of the military population confirm the linkage of exposure to the development of deadly melanoma. A 2000 "Annals of Epidemiology" study comparing mortality among WWII veterans of the Pacific and European Theaters found that Pacific Theater Prisoner of War veterans had an estimated 3-fold higher risk of dying from melanoma than veterans of the European Theater. The article concluded that these data are "consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to high levels of solar radiation in young adulthood is associated with a higher risk of melanoma mortality. According to The Pulse, the online source for the Uniformed Services University, “melanoma is the most significant cancer to affect the active duty military population.” A Vanderbilt School of Medicine study--citing the following statistics--only 22 percent of military personnel were made aware of the risks of sun exposure; while 77 percent reported being exposed to bright sunlight for more than 4 hours a day, with only 27 percent having regular access to sunscreen—concluded: “The past decade of United States’ combat missions, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, have occurred at a more equatorial latitude than the mean center of the United States population, increasing the potential for ultraviolent irradiance and the development of skin cancer.” Recent studies have borne out these conclusions. According to Health.mil, a 10-year surveillance study from 2005 through 2014 showed that malignant melanoma was one of the most frequent cancer diagnoses among male service members, and the second most frequent cancer diagnosis for female service members. And a 2014 Military Medicine Study found that the overall incidence rate of melanoma in active duty military personnel between 2000 and 2007 was 62 percent greater than among the general population during the same period. i ask that you work with your colleagues and cosponsor and support the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference in the final Fiscal Year 2020 Department of Defense Appropriations bill. Thank you for your attention to this important request. Sincerely,  

As a volunteer for the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), I am writing to ask your support of Representative Carolyn Maloney's letter to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that they agree to the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference on the final version of the Fiscal 2020 Defense Appropriations bill. Earlier this year, Representative Carolyn Maloney led a letter signed by 21 Members of the House to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee requesting that the Subcommittee provide $20 million for the PRMRP in its Fiscal 2020 Defense Appropriations bill. The House Appropriations Committee included instead $10 million for the PRMRP, the same as the Fiscal 2019 level for the program. Melanoma is a unique and major threat to our military community, as the armed forces continue with their missions in environments of extreme solar radiation. Decades of studies from WWII to the current generation of the military population confirm the linkage of exposure to the development of deadly melanoma. A 2000 "Annals of Epidemiology" study comparing mortality among WWII veterans of the Pacific and European Theaters found that Pacific Theater Prisoner of War veterans had an estimated 3-fold higher risk of dying from melanoma than veterans of the European Theater. The article concluded that these data are "consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to high levels of solar radiation in young adulthood is associated with a higher risk of melanoma mortality. According to The Pulse, the online source for the Uniformed Services University, “melanoma is the most significant cancer to affect the active duty military population.” A Vanderbilt School of Medicine study--citing the following statistics--only 22 percent of military personnel were made aware of the risks of sun exposure; while 77 percent reported being exposed to bright sunlight for more than 4 hours a day, with only 27 percent having regular access to sunscreen—concluded: “The past decade of United States’ combat missions, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, have occurred at a more equatorial latitude than the mean center of the United States population, increasing the potential for ultraviolent irradiance and the development of skin cancer.” Recent studies have borne out these conclusions. According to Health.mil, a 10-year surveillance study from 2005 through 2014 showed that malignant melanoma was one of the most frequent cancer diagnoses among male service members, and the second most frequent cancer diagnosis for female service members. And a 2014 Military Medicine Study found that the overall incidence rate of melanoma in active duty military personnel between 2000 and 2007 was 62 percent greater than among the general population during the same period. i ask that you work with your colleagues and cosponsor and support the Senate level of $20 million for the Peer Reviewed Melanoma Research Program in Conference in the final Fiscal Year 2020 Department of Defense Appropriations bill. Thank you for your attention to this important request.