I was pleased to hear President Obama mention the need to invest in science and innovation in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Cancer patients and survivors nationwide need a renewed commitment from Congress and the administration to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute at levels that keep up with inflation and allow promising research to continue.
To illustrate just how crucial federal funding is for cancer research, ACS CAN released a new report this week, Catalyst for Cures: How Federally Funded Cancer Research Saves Lives. This report underscores the threat posed by sequestration to future progress in the fight to end death and suffering from cancer by highlighting federally-funded scientists who have discovered new ways to treat specific cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer and the patients who benefited from those advances.
Today, as we do every February 4, we commemorate World Cancer Day. Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (IUCC), World Cancer Day is a day for the global cancer community to come together and make our voices heard as we raise awareness about the need to make the fight to defeat cancer an international priority.
That's why ACS CAN conducted a poll in key states across the country to find out how the public feels about this issue. The results released today show that registered voters in these key states Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico and Texas want their state to accept federal funds that are available to broaden access to health coverage through Medicaid.
Millions of eyes will be turned to Washington, D.C. on Monday, as President Obama is inaugurated into his second term as president. But this Inauguration Day is even more significant because it falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day when volunteering in one's community has become a national tradition.