I will be joining Less Cancer’s National Cancer Prevention Day this year via Skype. I am honored to be a part of this year’s National Cancer Prevention Day where scientists and others come together to talk about how we can PREVENT CANCER.

I have worked closely with Less Cancer over the last few years on some very important issues in my community since I blew the whistle on a Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-defined double Pediatric Cancer Cluster in a 5-town area of the beautiful seacoast of New Hampshire. Children are sick and have died in my community from these two forms of rare cancers which include rhabdomyosarcoma and pleuropulmonary blastoma. Since then, we have realized that brain and central nervous system cancers are almost 3 times the expected rate in the same 5-town area.

Lydia Valdez died in May 2013 from RMS.

I feel like we have to keep talking and talking about this so these children haven’t lost their lives in vain. The only common thread among these children is they all drank water with PFAs compounds in it at unknown levels.

Since becoming involved in trying to identify environmental triggers for these cancers I also learned that New Hampshire has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the country and some of the highest incidences of bladder cancer according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

CDC Breast Cancer Incidence Rates by State, sorted from highest to lowest.

A few years ago, I would have never considered running for a political office at the state level much less a Congressional seat in CD-1. But, I feel that clearly something must be done to prevent cancer in New Hampshire and across the nation. That’s why much of my legislative work in New Hampshire is aimed at cancer prevention by holding polluters responsible and lowering exposures to environmental toxins. We owe it to our children and generations to come.

Unfortunately, I can’t be with Less Cancer this year in Washington, D.C. to accept this award in person but I will participate via Skype. I have to be here in New Hampshire to vote on important legislation like HB587 which would ban gay conversion therapy in New Hampshire. I am hopeful that after two tie votes last session that was broken by the Speaker, we can Reconsider this bill and pass it once and for all.

Thank you so much, Less Cancer for all the important work you do! 💕

Sam Thomas of North Hampton, New Hampshire, died of RMS in August 2014.