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Having watched and supported my Mom’s brave fight against this debilitating disease (and eventually losing that battle) — the epic goal that President Biden rolled out today, cannot come soon enough.
We put people on the Moon afterall — and that took less than 10 years. Once we set our minds to it.
Biden aims to reduce cancer deaths by 50% over next 25 years
by Josh Boak and Zeke Miller, AP; via news.yahoo.com — Feb 2, 2022
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday set a 25-year timeline to cut in half the cancer death rate, a lofty but perhaps unrealistic goal that is meant to “supercharge” an initiative started when he was vice president to eradicate the disease that killed his older son, Beau.
“This can really be an American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things,” Biden told a crowd of lawmakers, administration officials, researchers and others at the White House.
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The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 1,918,030 new cancer cases and 609,360 cancer deaths this year. Biden is essentially aiming to to save more than 300,000 lives annually, which the administration believes is possible because the age-adjusted death rate has already fallen by roughly 25% over the past two decades. The cancer death rate is currently 146 per 100,000 people, compared with nearly 200 in 2000.
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It’s good to see President Biden setting some scientific goals. Science is what got us here. Science is what will get us to where we need to go, as a humane, caring, forward-looking society.
Science has virtually eradicated the scourges of past (or has kept them in serious check): Polio, Smallpox , Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Rubella (German measles), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Measles, Pertussis (whooping cough), Pneumococcal disease, Rotavirus, Varicella (chickenpox), Diphtheria, and Mumps.
How Science [-denial] ever became a political issue, worth “dying for” — I’ll never understand.
Some things may be worth betting your life on (flying, traveling, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, river rafting, etc. etc.) — but betting against the collective ingenuity of concerned scientists, shouldn’t be one of them.
If it wasn’t for their contributions to society, we’d be looking at life expectancies in our 40’s — and a ‘quality of life’ that would put a whole new spin on misery.
I’ll be rooting for those functional geniuses to keep solving the practical challenges, that humanity is facing on an ever-accelerating time scale, it seems. Cancer being one of the most cruel and stubborn challenge, among them.
Way to go Joe! Putting a priority on Science is important — and practically essential too. More please!
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Biden relaunches cancer 'moonshot' initiative to help cut death rate
abcnews.go.com