Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) would like to congratulate President Biden and Dr. Biden on the announcement of a new Cancer Moonshot. We applaud the ambitious new goals and objectives that will be instrumental in changing the trajectory of cancer care and treatment and ending cancer as we know it today. We strongly support the call for an all-hands-on-deck approach for all individuals, organizations, and agencies to do their part, in whatever role they play, to positively impact progress against cancer.
This recent announcement is built around three critical goal goals: Reducing the death rate due to cancer by 50% over the next 25 years, improving the experiences of people living with cancer, and ultimately ending Cancer as we know it.
“President & Dr. Biden’s relentless leadership to advance the Cancer Moonshot mission should be a signal to all that now is the time to take a bold new step to transform cancer research and care” said Friends of Cancer Research Chair & Founder, Ellen Sigal. “The Moonshot’s principles, partnerships, and resources will continue to accelerate the incredible progress that has and continues to be made.”
We are pleased with the direction of the recently announced moonshot initiatives, importantly:
- Reconstituting the government’s role – including the establishment of a Cancer Cabinet consisting of various major government agency heads
- A call to action on screening
- A reversal of trends in screening that have been seen during the pandemic
- Awareness and accessibility campaign
- The development of National Cancer Institute led and community-based programs to increase screening accessibility.
“The original Moonshot demonstrated that it was possible to compress a decade’s worth of progress into a few short years. We can’t afford to not make that opportunity a reality again,” said Friends of Cancer Research Chair & Founder, Ellen Sigal. “Death rates for certain cancers are improving, and technologies and treatments are emerging to accomplish this across many more. I hope this is the recommitment to make that goal a reality across all cancers.”
About Friends of Cancer Research
Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) is working to accelerate policy change, support groundbreaking science, and deliver new therapies to patients quickly and safely. We unite scientists, pharmaceutical companies, and policy makers with shared trust and guide them toward meaningful cooperation. This collaboration among partners from every healthcare sector ultimately drives advances in science, policy, and regulation that speed life-saving treatments to patients. For more information, please visit https://friendsofcancerresearch.org/.
