Newswise — Members of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology will converge on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., this week for the Society's second annual legislative training and advocacy program.

During the two-day event, more than 50 ASTRO members from 24 states will meet with more than 75 U.S. Senators, Representatives and congressional staff to promote the Society's legislative priorities, including increased funding for cancer research, physician self-referral and medical imaging utilization and correcting the fundamentally flawed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

Participants will hear from key public policy officials and received briefings on the federal legislative and regulatory processes.

"Radiation oncology is an extremely important, cost effective, but often overlooked specialty that is used to help more than one half of all cancer patients," said Theodore S. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., ASTRO Chair and the Isadore Lampe Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. "This event is an excellent opportunity for ASTRO members to educate their congressional representatives and staff members about the critical role we play in caring for patients with cancer and other diseases."

To learn more about radiation therapy or ASTRO's 47th Annual Meeting, scheduled for October 16-20, 2005, in Denver, please visit http://www.astro.org.

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 8,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to the advancement of the practice of radiation oncology by promoting excellence in patient care, providing opportunities for educational and professional development, promoting research and disseminating research results and representing radiation oncology in a rapidly evolving socioeconomic healthcare environment.