The statistics on cancer in America are shocking. More than 1.5 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2009, when the disease cost the nation more than $243 billion in medical costs and lost productivity. Approximately one in four men and one in five women die from cancer. But we don't need statistics to know that the personal and social costs of cancer are enormous.

In a groundbreaking report released last year, a presidentially appointed "Cancer Panel" identified toxic chemicals as an under-recognized cause of cancer, and recommended immediate action to enact stronger laws to reverse this trend.

The panel is calling for a comprehensive agenda to address environmental contaminants to protect public health. The panel's report specifically identifies the current Toxic Substances Control Act as "the most egregious example of ineffective regulation of chemical contaminants," and calls for the law to be strengthened.

But so far the Obama administration has virtually ignored the panel's report. We need the president to heed the call of scientists, physicians and public health experts, and to make cancer prevention a priority by reducing our exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

Photo by IWeed Education and Action by NRDC