Cancer kills over
half a million people every year in the US. It is also the leading cause of death by disease for children aged 1 to 14. How does the White House rate this danger? DR Orac of
Respectful Insolence puts it in perspective:
[Link] Making the rounds at our cancer institute is an e-mail from one of the higher-ups, which points out the following sobering facts about the budget for the National Cancer Institute [...] [T]he NCI budget for 2007 will represent not just a failure to keep up with inflation but a real cut in actual dollars for the second year in a row.
The total proposed budget for the NCI is 4.75 billion. Or about what the war in Iraq costs every few weeks, based on known Congressional Appropriations and DoD data. Orac brings us some good news though: The President's budget doesn't cut any of the 120 million marked for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. That would include treatment based on acupuncture, prayer, meditation, and 'energy therapies'.
In fairness, it's not just cancer patients the White House feels are a lower priority on the budget ladder than Iraq. They feel the same about Kids' Health, Public Housing, and the victims of Katrina: Combined.