Yesterday (February 2, 2022,) the Biden/Harris Administration relaunched the Cancer Moonshot Program the President oversaw when he was Vice President in the Obama/Biden Administration.
The goals of the relaunched program, expressed by the President and a White House Press Statement are:
- A drive to reduce cancer deaths in half by 2047.
- Improve life conditions for cancer patients and their families.
- Intensify the call for people to get cancer screenings so the disease can be detected early.
- Creating a White House Cure Cancer Moonshot Coordinator position to oversee the relaunched program.
- Creating a cancer cabinet.
- Reduce patient inequities in cancer treatment due to race, zip code, income, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Announcing the relaunched program at a White House event accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Douglas Enoff, the President made several noteworthy statements including:
"...And our message today is this: We can do this. I promise you we can do this. For all those we lost, for all those we miss, we can end cancer as we know it. I committed to this fight when I was Vice President. It’s one of the reasons why, quite frankly, I ran for President. Let there be no doubt: Now that I am President, this is a presidential White House priority — period..."
"...But here’s the deal: Despite the progress of lives extended and lives saved, cancer is still the number-two cause of death in America, second only to heart disease. In the last two years of COVID-19 pandemic, it’s taken more than — the pandemic has taken more than 800,000 American lives. But that same period of time, cancer has claimed 1.2 million American lives year in and year out..."
"...And that’s why, today, I’m proud to announce our plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot as a central effort of the Biden-Harris administration. It’s bold. It’s ambitious. But it’s completely doable.Just as we harnessed the science to develop cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, we’ll bring a fierce sense of urgency to the fight against cancer. The goal is to cut the cancer death rate in half in the next 25 years — at least by 50 percent — and to turn more cancers from death sentences into chronic diseases that people can live with; to create a more supportive experience for patients and their families; and, by doing these things and more, to end cancer as we know it..."
"...When we work together in America, there is nothing — nothing beyond our capacity. Nothing. So, let’s show the world what’s possible. Let’s show the world that we’re committed. Let’s show that we can do big things — that in the United States of America, when we work together, there’s nothing beyond our grasp — I mean nothing beyond our grasp And I know of nothing, as I think my colleagues would say, that’s more bipartisan than take on this fight and fundamentally change cancer as we know it. It’s a mission that can truly unify the nation, that shows us at our best, working together, and — rather than working against one another..."
The Biden/Harris Administration's relaunching of the goal to reduce the number of cancer deaths in half over 25 years and make life more comfortable for cancer patients and their families are worthy goals that should receive widespread support across the country and bipartisan support in Congress.
This would also fulfill a personal goal of the President to honor the memory of his late son, Beau, who fell to brain cancer eight years ago.
One item that would greatly benefit the cancer moonshot program relaunch, as noted by Lev Facher in Stat, is the full funding and approval of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H,) a new government health entity that will specialize in developing breakthrough health treatments and technologies.
The House Health Subcommittee announced a hearing to consider ARPA-H is scheduled for February 8, 2022.
President Biden mentioned in his presentation that the first war on cancer, spearheaded by President Richard Nixon in the 1970's, helped lead to the reduction of cancer related deaths by 25 percent.
It is time for everyone to come together to build on those results and reduce the number of cancer fatalities by 50 percent more.
If the people of this country could put a person on the Moon in less than ten years, then surely they could save half the lives of cancer patients in 25.
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