People gathered at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Wednesday to express their concerns to Rep. Nita Lowey about massive cuts to cancer research in the proposed 2018 budget.

Volunteers, including doctors, survivors and local leaders, came together in West Harrison to call on Congress to reject any cuts to federal cancer research funding.

The 2018 fiscal budget proposes more than $7 billion in cuts to the National Institute of Health and $1.2 billion in cuts to cancer research.

"My patients will tell you that they received a drug that literally changed their lives, and probably the one that comes to mind most often is the cancer drug for breast cancer. It's tamoxifen, and now it is the gold standard. They literally stopped the trial because it's so profound," says Sandi Cassese, vice president of oncology at Healthquest.

The event was organized by the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network.