Recognizing the Lazarex Cancer Foundation

Floor Speech

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary work of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, which has announced it will conclude operations at the end of this calendar year after 19 years of remarkable service.

Since its founding in 2006, by my good friend Dana Dornsife, Lazarex has invested over $30 million to support more than 13,000 patients in finding and participating in cancer clinical trials through its CARE and IMPACT Reimbursement Programs. It has also provided cancer education and equitable access to resources, services, and care to tens of thousands of people in underserved communities through its Cancer Wellness HUBs.

In Texas, Lazarex has worked extensively with the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, ensuring that financial barriers such as travel and lodging never stood in the way of patients seeking hope through clinical trials. Nationally, Lazarex has been a driving force for change, helping to pass legislation in California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Texas affirming that reimbursement of patient travel expenses is not inducement but essential support. This has reshaped the clinical trial landscape, making travel reimbursement a standard practice and opening doors for more diverse and representative participation in research.

Lazarex has not only changed laws and policies--it has changed the conversation. By diminishing stigma and fear, Lazarex created space for honest discussions about cancer in homes, communities, and places of worship. Its work has inspired patients, families, and health systems alike to reimagine what equitable access to cancer care should look like.

Mr. Speaker, the decision to close was not made lightly. Shifts in the pharmaceutical funding landscape, the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, cuts to research funding, and a broader retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives created economic headwinds that made continuation unsustainable. Yet even as it closes, Lazarex leaves behind a proud legacy--one of compassion, equity, innovation, and measurable impact.

On behalf of patients in Texas and across the United States, I want to express deep gratitude to Lazarex staff, community partners, sponsors, donors, and, especially the founder and heart and soul of Lazarex for the last 19 years, Dana Dornsife. Their belief in this mission has changed--and saved--lives.

I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring the Lazarex Cancer Foundation for its 19 years of tireless advocacy and achievement in the fight against cancer.

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