WASHINGTON, DC February 9, 2016 The president 's fiscal year 2017 budget sets an ambitious course to accelerate discovery in the fight against cancer. The proposed 13 percent increase for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) would go a long way to restore funding shortfalls that have severely hampered progress in the last decade and builds on the support provided by Congress in FY16.
Thanks to past investment in research, we have an enhanced understanding of cancer at the molecular level. This much-needed infusion of funding will allow researchers to apply that knowledge and develop early detection tests and treatments that target specific cancers with much greater precision than traditional therapies and screenings could accomplish.
ACS CAN is grateful for the important emphasis the president 's budget places on advancing our understanding of cancer, a disease that is expected to kill an estimated 595,000 Americans this year more than 1,600 today.æ Beyond the NCI, research across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to better understand cancer pain, reduce health disparities and improve tobacco cessation measures.
The much-needed infusion of funding for cancer research is critical to our ability to advance our understanding of the cancers that still vex us. However, our ability to maximize our potential to reduce death and suffering from this disease relies on robust and sustained funding for proven cancer prevention as well as research.
We are pleased to see the president recognize the importance of reducing disease and death related to tobacco use by including a 94 cent increase in the federal tax on cigarettes and expanding coverage of tobacco cessation services in Medicaid. The budget also proposes important coverage improvements for colon cancer screening in Medicare. Reducing out-of-pocket costs for cancer prevention like tobacco cessation and colonoscopies will remove barriers that prevent individuals from accessing lifesaving prevention.
We are concerned that the proposed budget cuts critical cancer prevention and screening programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). æScreening programs such as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program remain essential gateways to lifesaving care for millions of people nationwide, especially those in states that have not accepted federal dollars to expand Medicaid coverage.
To eliminate cancer as a public health burden, we must ensure that all Americans have access to proven preventive care and that our country 's scientists have the robust and sustained funds they need to make the next generation of groundbreaking discoveries.æ ACS CAN calls on Congress to make cancer a top priority by dedicating robust resources for research and prevention at the NIH, NCI and CDC in the FY17 budget.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Crispino
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]
#ACSCAN #cancer #NIH #NCI #CDC #Moonshot
