Cancer is a horrible disease. On that we can all agree. Back in 2016, when then-Vice President Joe Biden announced his initial Cancer Moonshot, the goal was to cut the cancer death rate in half. The legislation was hugely popular on both sides of the aisle. Congress worked the way it is supposed to work.
Liberals and conservatives agreed that the bill could save lives and be a tremendous gift to cancer patients and scientists. Republicans backed the measure during the final days of Barack Obama’s presidency, passing the 21st Century Cures Act, and agreeing on $1.8 billion to the cause.
The House and Senate showed overwhelmingly strong bipartisan support for the measure. It was signed into law on December 13, 2016. The legislation provided the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with critical tools and resources to advance biomedical research across the spectrum, from foundational basic research studies to advanced clinical trials of promising new drugs.
At the time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called it “the most significant legislation passed by this Congress” in that session.
But all those good vibes have turned cynical. The new spending package reportedly doesn’t include funding for the 21st Century Cures Act, the 2016 law that provided the Cancer Moonshot’s most direct funding stream — $1.8 billion in total. And that is both sad and inexcusable. The NIH section of the bill has dropped from $47.5 billion in fiscal 2023 to $47.1 billion this year, a net cut of $378 million.
This time, most Republicans in the House rejected the idea of finding cures for a variety of cancers. They nixed Biden’s request to fund cures. The Republicans are no longer on board. And that is sad no matter how one looks at this.
On A Personal Note
Breaking Cancer News is not a political news organization. And our readers know that I have lifelong close friends on both sides of the aisle. And yes, I know that they love their families just as much as I love mine. I also understand all too well how politics works. The idea is that you don’t give your opponents any big wins in a major election year. I get it.
But this piece of legislation is about life and death. It should stay above the fray and the nonsense. In this particular case, what the Republicans in the House are doing will have a demonstrably negative impact on a bill that saves lives and has been hailed by both sides.
The American Cancer Society Weighs In
Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, is the CEO of both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
In a statement delivered to Breaking Cancer News, she said, “We appreciate Congress’ continued support in prioritizing vital funding for cancer research in the face of significant budget constraints and are extremely grateful for new funding initiatives at NIH to support palliative care and improve cancer outcomes for Native Americans. Unfortunately, the fiscal constraints coupled with the end of mandatory funding for Cancer Moonshot places overall funding levels behind last year and well below necessary levels to continue pace in progress with the fight with cancer.”
Dr. Karen Knudsen
“With cancer incidence rates estimated to hit an all-time high this year,” her statement continued, “failure to build on our nation’s proven investment at a pivotal point in the fight against cancer puts future cancer discovery and support necessary to ensure the next generation of scientists at risk. It will take year-over-year continued and significant investment if we’re going to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.”
Knudsen, who guides both organizations toward the goal of improving the lives of cancer patients and their families, concluded, “We can’t afford to lose momentum. We call on Congress to advance an overall funding agenda that allows for robust, sustained increases in funding for NIH, NCI and CDC to ensure the strong and meaningful fiscal growth necessary to truly accelerate tomorrow’s cures and lead us to a future where the cancer burden is significantly reduced for everyone.”
Everyone With Cancer Deserves Good Care
Dr. Thomas K. Lew is an assistant clinical professor of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and an attending physician of Hospital Medicine at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley. In an opinion piece in USA Today, he wrote poignantly and personally about this legislation:
“As a hospital doctor, I’ve gotten pretty good at delivering bad news,” he wrote. “Still, it never gets any easier. It certainly was not easy the day I told my 53-year-old patient, a devoted father of two, that his stomach pains were not from gallstones as everyone had assumed. Whenever a doctor says ‘bad news,’ our minds often jump to that terrible ‘C’-word we fear: cancer. Unfortunately for my patient, I diagnosed him with a deadly form of cancer: cholangiocarcinoma. Over the next year, I would watch him deteriorate as he was readmitted with complication after complication.
Lew continued, “Even though this would be a win for all Americans – and humanity – that apparently did not outweigh the politics of making a Democrat look good. This is the definition of party over country.”
Amen.
