Why Cancer Is 'Gone' Discourse Doesn't Help Cancer Patients

December 7, 20154:50 PM ET       

Barbara J. King

 

 

Photo by Matt Rourke/AP

 

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http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2015/12/07/458824962/why-cancer-is-gone-discourse-doesn-t-help-cancer-patients?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

 

Cancer Moonshot - Is Now Finally the Time?

 

Kim Thiboldeaux, CEO of the Cancer Support Community, recently published a post urging us to commit to making 2016 the year that we finally combat cancer. With the advancement in cancer research and treatment, the passing of new legislatures, and the support from public figures like President Obama and Vice President Biden, there is no better time than now to aim for the moon. 

In her post, Ms. Thiboldeaux wrote, “In 1971, President Nixon declared a War on Cancer and signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 . So why, 45 years later, is curing cancer the nation's new moonshot? We are seeing more targeted therapies, less toxic therapies, and a wider range of second and third line treatment options when other approaches fail.  But back to the question, why now? For starters, as both the President and the Vice President have stated - this is personal. Last year, the Vice President lost his son Beau, age 46, to cancer, and in 1995 President Obama lost his mother to ovarian cancer. And as Vice President Biden 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." At times, these kinds of personal experiences - and perhaps the great tragedy of losing a child - become the drivers and motivators to muster the will to accomplish great things."

Read the full article at Huffington Post.