Funding for NIH Cancer Research Program Positive Step Toward Winning Cancer Battle
Statement from Daniel E. Smith, President, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Washington, D.C. – September 30, 2009 – “President Obama today announced $5 billion in medical research grants that are critically important to the discovery of new and more effective treatments and prevention measures for life-threatening chronic diseases such as cancer. The grants, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, include $175 million to fund the Cancer Genome Atlas, a program led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to map the genomic changes that occur in different types of cancer.
“The Cancer Genome Atlas will collect more than 20,000 tissue samples from more than 20 different cancers, giving scientists a better understanding of the workings of cancer, which will kill more than 560,000 people in America this year. The work will involve more than 150 scientists at dozens of institutions around the country, not only creating jobs and stimulating local economies, but also furthering important medical research.
“Cancer and other chronic diseases cost our economy $1 trillion a year in lost workdays and lower employee productivity. Investing in medical research has a dual benefit of improving pubic health and stimulating the economy. NIH funds universities and labs across the country, that employ researchers and purchase goods and services, providing tremendous dividends for local economies nationwide.
“We have been making progress in the war on cancer for decades, but still have a long way to go before people stop suffering and dying from the disease. If our nation makes the necessary investment in medical research, prevention, early detection and treatment, we can defeat cancer once and for all. The grants announced today are another step forward in that investment in medical research, yet there is still much to be done.
“We call on the Administration and Congress to sustain this important investment in biomedical research in FY 2011. Winning the war on cancer will only become a reality if the potentially lifesaving research started under the recovery act is allowed to progress.”
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
After months of delay and hard negotiations, Congress has finally passed a funding bill! The bill includes a small increase for cancer research and prevention programs.