Washington, D.C. – The President announced this morning he is ‘reigniting’ his commitment to ‘end cancer as we know it,’ building on the initial and robust cancer moonshot investment in discovery, prioritizing increased uptake of prevention and addressing health disparities. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), applaud the President for putting national focus on this critical issue that impacts 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in their lifetime nationwide. ACS and ACS CAN leadership will be part of the White House event today.
The following is a statement from Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of ACS and ACS CAN.
“We commend President Biden for reigniting the moonshot to accelerate his commitment to ‘end cancer as we know it,’ a disease that greatly impacted his family, Vice President Kamala Harris’ family and nearly every family across the country. President Biden announced goals that require bold action. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will be standing shoulder to shoulder with the President, the administration and all levels of government, as well as the cancer community at large, to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families.
“As the largest non-government, non-profit funder of cancer research in the United States and the leading cancer patient advocacy organization we have worked on this mission for more than a century. We can directly track declines in overall cancer death rates to investment in research, advocacy and direct patient support. ACS alone has invested over $3 billion in cancer research since 1991. ACS and ACS CAN commit to continue this fight alongside the President, his administration and Congress by accelerating discovery, improving access to services patients and their families need and advancing public policy that will change the trajectory of this disease.
“Cancer affects everyone, but it doesn’t affect everyone equally. There is significant progress that must be made to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat and survive cancer. This includes guaranteeing everyone has access to proven prevention strategies, including lifesaving screenings like mammograms, pap tests and colonoscopies, and accelerating discovery to improve prevention measures and develop screening and detection tests for cancers for which we don’t currently have answers. We must also ensure everyone has access to affordable, comprehensive health care coverage and can take a significant step toward that goal by closing the Medicaid coverage gap. Finally, we must work to ensure no matter how much money you make, the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, your gender identity, your disability status or where you live, you have equal opportunity to benefit from discovery. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against this disease.
“In 2022 alone, there will be an estimated 1.9 million people diagnosed with cancer and more than 600,000 people in the U.S. will die. Marshalling the resources of the federal government will be critical in our ability to reduce death and suffering from this disease.”