Politics

America Must Stand Up to Cancer

By Speaker Pelosi

There is not a person in our country who has not seen a loved one suffer because of cancer. Cancer kills 565,000 Americans annually, and each year there are more than 1.4 million new cases. All Americans must work together to make eradicating the scourge of cancer a national priority of the highest order.

The federal government?s role in our nation?s fight against cancer has been significant but more must be done. We must make key investments in research at the National Institutes of Health, promote prevention and screenings, and be certain that every American gets appropriate treatment. We must also allow scientists to pursue the research that they believe has the highest likelihood to heal.

There are reasons for great optimism: scientists are working now to identify genetic changes that increase and decrease risk for cancer, to determine patterns of protein markers for early detection of cancer, and to better treat and cure the disease.

Let us all work together to make this a golden era of progress as we Stand Up to Cancer.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 05, 2008 (boomark / email).