US plans to reduce cancer death rate by at least 50 pct -- Biden

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (KUNA) -- US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a plan to cut the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent in the next 25 years and "to turn more cancers from death sentences into chronic diseases that people can live with." At a White House event "to reignite the Cancer Moonshot," Biden said, "I'm proud to announce our plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot as a central effort of the Biden-Harris administration. It's bold. It's ambitious. But it's completely doable." "Just as we harness science to develop cutting edge COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, we'll bring a fierce sense of urgency to the fight against cancer," he added.
"The goal is to cut the cancer death rate in half in the next 25 years, at least by 50 percent, and to turn more cancers from death sentences into chronic diseases that people can live with. To create a more supportive experience for patients and their families.
"Our message today is this. We can do this. I promise you, we can do this. All those we lost, all those we miss, we can end cancer as we know it. I committed to this fight when I was vice president. It's one of the reasons why, quite frankly, I ran for President," he remarked.
"Let there be no doubt. Now that I am president, this is a presidential White House priority.
"We learned cancer is not a single disease. We used to think at that time it was a single disease. There are -- 200 different types of cancer caused by different genetic mutations in ourselves.
"We discovered new medicines, therapies, early detection, prevention measures that extend lives and save lives.
"In the last two years of COVID-19 -- the pandemic has taken more than 800,000 American lives. But that same period of time, cancer has claimed 1.2 million American lives year in and year out," he went on.
Biden promised to do his part "on funding and using my authorities as President to break logjams and speed breakthroughs." "This will be bipartisan. This will bring the country together and quite frankly, other nations as well," he stressed.
According to a White House fact sheet, the Cancer Moonshot will form a cancer cabinet, "which will be convened by the White House, bringing together departments and agencies across government to address cancer on multiple fronts," as well as "issue a call to action on cancer screening and early detection." In 2016, Biden as Vice President launched the Cancer Moonshot "with the mission to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer." (end) si.gb