Senator Anthony M. Bucco welcomed Grace Eline and the “WITH Grace Initiative” to the New Jersey State House today for Pediatric Cancer Advocacy Day.
Senator Anthony M. Bucco and the Republican members of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee meeting with pediatric cancer survivor Grace Eline and the WITH Grace Initiative for Pediatric Cancer Advocacy Day at the New Jersey State House on June 20, 2023. (SenateNJ.com)
“It’s an honor to welcome Grace and her mother Aubrey back to the State House as they continue their advocacy on behalf of the pediatric cancer community,” said Bucco (R-25). “Grace is working to ensure that other children with cancer have access to effective treatments and the follow-up care they will need throughout their lives.”
Grace, now 14 years old, was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer when she was nine. After treatment, Grace has been cancer free for the last five years.
Through the “WITH Grace Initiative,” Grace and her mother, Aubrey Reichard-Eline, have advocated for State funding for pediatric cancer research.
“Grace is an amazing young woman who has been successful in convincing legislators to dedicate funding specifically for pediatric cancer research,” Bucco said. “We had never done that before, and it almost certainly wouldn’t have happened without her effective advocacy. Through her efforts, I have no doubt that New Jersey will continue to fund pediatric cancer research for years to come.”
Bucco first teamed up with Grace in 2021 when they successfully championed the enactment of laws establishing the New Jersey Pediatric Cancer Research Fund and appropriating $5 million to the fund.
Bucco, a pediatric cancer survivor himself, is currently working with Senator Robert Singer (R-30) on legislation to appropriate another $5 million for pediatric cancer research and $5 million for adult cancer research.
“I was blessed to survive cancer when I was just eight years old, but I have dealt with the side effects of treatment ever since,” Bucco added. “The holy grail of research is to develop more effective treatments so kids like Grace won’t have to worry about their cancers coming back or the debilitating impacts of toxic medicines and radiation decades down the line. Safer and more effective cancer treatments are within sight, but we need the foresight to make the investment in research.”