President Joe Biden speaks about the cancer prevention initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston on September 12.
Evan Vucci / AP
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Evan Vucci / AP
President Joe Biden speaks about the cancer prevention initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston on September 12.
Evan Vucci / AP
It’s been 60 years since President Kennedy delivered his iconic speech, marks the US goal of launching people into space to step foot on the moon, and bring him back to Earth.
On Monday, President Biden gave a speech at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, outlining progress on his own self-described picture: ending cancer.
“This photo of the cancer moon is one of the reasons why I’m running for president,” Biden said. “Cancer doesn’t distinguish between red and blue. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. Beating cancer is something we can do together.”
Biden said cancer is often diagnosed too late and said “there are too few ways to prevent it in the first place.” He also added that there are marked inequalities in cancer diagnosis and treatment based on race, disability, zip code, sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We know too little about why treatments work for some patients, but another patient with the same disease doesn’t. We still lack strategies,” he said. strategy in developing treatments for some cancers” does enough to help patients and families navigate the cancer care system. ”
While Biden has announced many moonshot cancer target in februaryIn Monday’s speech, he offered several updates.
Ahead of the speech, the White House announced that Dr. Renee Wegrzyn would be appointed head of a new agency, the Advanced Research Projects for Health (ARPA-H) agency, the first to take on the role. this game. The agency was created by Biden in February to improve the US government’s ability to advance health and biomedical research.
“ARPA-H will have the sole purpose of driving breakthroughs to prevent, detect and treat diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and others, and enable us to live healthier lives. “, Biden said.
Biden also announced that he is signing a new executive order kicking off the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, to help ensure that technology to help end cancer is made in the US.
He said creating new technologies to treat cancer and other things would create jobs and strengthen supply chains – adding that the US would then not have to rely on any other place in the world. world for that progress.
In February, Biden first announced his ultimate cancer goal of cutting cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years and improving the experience of survivors and survivors. after cancer. At the time, he also announced the creation of a Cancer Cabinet that would combine different corners of government to work towards his goal.
Fighting cancer is an issue Biden has faced since his days as vice president, and it’s an issue close to his family, and also to Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden’s son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015. Harris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a breast cancer researcher, died of colon cancer in 2009.
