Cancer-stricken children urge Bernie Sanders to back life-saving pediatric healthcare bill

By Fox News · Fox News

Cancer-stricken patients are urging Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to reverse course and support a bill that could lead to life-saving treatments. Jacob Knudsen, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 12 and has since endured nearly two dozen surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy after tumors were discovered on his organs, is pushing for Sanders to support the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, the New York Post reported. "There is something currently in my lung, and there’s a 50-50 chance that it’s cancer," Knudsen, a California native and college student, told the newspaper. "I’m willing to bleed. I’m willing to lose limbs. I’m willing to lose organs. I’m willing to do anything just to survive." SANDERS BLASTED AFTER BLOCKING BIPARTISAN KIDS' CANCER RESEARCH BILL: 'GRINCH,' 'SELFISH' The bipartisan bill, named after Knudsen's friend, a fellow osteosarcoma patient who died late last year at 16, would allow pediatric cancer patients to participate in clinical trials and to ensure them access to key treatments. The legislation passed unanimously in the House. However, when it reached the Senate, Sanders, who has repeatedly called for better health care, objected. He demanded other stipulations be attached, such as funding of other efforts, such as community health centers, the Post said. His opposition has slowed the bill's advancement. Fox News Digital has reached out to Sanders . At the time of the bill's failure in December, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Sanders of playing politics with children's lives before calling him a real-life Grinch. "Everything their senator from Vermont just talked about was political," said Mullin, who brought the bill to the Senate floor. "I'm talking about giving kids a chance to live an extra day or a lifetime. This has nothing to do with politics. This has to do with kids." SEN MURPHY WARNS 'PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE' AS CONGRESS PUNTS ON EXPIRING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES "The Grinch is stealing kids' lives," h…