President Obama Declares – “We Can Cure Cancer”
The president is increasing resources to help find a cure for cancer. (Photo: Getty Images)
Tonight, during his final State of the Union address, President Obama declared that “America can cure cancer,” and touted newly increased resources for the National Institutes of Health, thanks in part to Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son to brain cancer last year.
“For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save,” the president said, “Let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.”
Vice President Biden released an emotional statement this evening, sharing his goal to cure cancer.
“Tonight, the president tasked me with leading a new national mission to get this done,” he wrote.
“It’s personal for me. But it’s also personal for nearly every American, and millions of people around the world. We all know someone who has had cancer, or is fighting to beat it. They’re our family, friends and co-workers.”
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Cancers are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths in 2012, according to the World Health Organization.
The vice president continued, writing, “Several cutting-edge areas of research and care — including cancer immunotherapy, genomics and combination therapies — could be revolutionary. Innovations in data and technology offer the promise to speed research advances and improve care delivery.”
“Right now, only 5 percent of cancer patients in the U.S. end up in a clinical trial,” Biden wrote. “Most aren’t given access to their own data. At the same time, community oncologists — who treat more than 75 percent of cancer patients — have more limited access to cutting-edge research and advances.”
Vice President Biden proposes two courses of action:
1) Increase resources — both private and public — to fight cancer.
2) Break down silos and bring all the cancer researchers together — to work together, share information and make cancer a thing of the past.
Read the full text of the vice president’s statement.
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