National Cancer Moonshot, a cancer research and awareness program, recently launched, and President Barack Obama has called for $1 billion in funding for the initiative in 2016 and 2017 -- a call applauded by officials from the American Cancer Society (ACS).
"Families affected by cancer applaud the president for working quickly to jump-start the Moonshot initiative, spearheaded by Vice President Biden, by calling for a substantial increase in funding that has the potential to change the course of this disease," American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN) President Chris Hansen said. "The president builds on the boost in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the FY16 budget secured through bipartisan support, working to ensure we as a nation are maximizing opportunities to bring lab discoveries from the bench to the bedside this year."
The funding will be used to develop new vaccines and early detection tests, as well as to delve further into the genetic causes of cancer.
"The president’s proposal is a clear illustration of his intention to make good on the promise to accelerate progress against cancer," Hansen said. "The Moonshot provides hope to the nearly 1.7 million Americans who will be diagnosed this year and the nearly 14.5 million cancer survivors in this country -- that we are mustering the full resources of our nation to impact the cancer burden."
