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An Overland Park teen fights to protect cancer funding

The Trump administration proposed slashing billions of dollars from federal health agencies, but a high school student from Overland Park has been pushing lawmakers to preserve cancer research funding. Plus, we remember a beloved Kansas City singer who died after a long battle with cancer.

Matthew Chen, a senior at Blue Valley North High School, knows the importance of cancer research firsthand: He’s been working with the University of Kansas Cancer Center for two years to look into the disease. KCUR’s Jodi Fortino talked with Chen about what federal cuts could mean for research like his.

Kansas City jazz vocalist Erin Keller died last week after an eight-year battle with colon cancer. The 44-year-old was a steadfast fixture in the Kansas City music scene. KCUR’s Julie Denesha brings us this remembrance.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Carter Galloway, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Email me at cgalloway@kcur.org
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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