President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address has spurred various debates, but an interesting topic not getting a whole lot of attention is his direction to Vice President Joe Biden.
Obama said: “Tonight I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. Because he’s going to the mat for all of us on so many issues over the past 40 years, I’m putting Joe in charge of mission control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families we can still save, lets make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.”
Biden’s son, Beau Biden, died in May 2015 of brain cancer at age 46. Since then, the vice president has:
- Announced his goal to end cancer, which he described as a “moonshot”
- Pushed Congress for a $2 billion increase in cancer research funding for the National Institute of Health, which came to fruition in December 2015
- Met with surgeons, medical researchers and hospital administrators to develop a strategy to cure cancer
While there have been many developments in oncology, cancer has plagued people throughout recorded history. Finding a cure would be incredible, but it is not exactly around the corner.
The American Cancer Society wrote in a 2014 report: “The growth in our knowledge of cancer biology has led to remarkable progress in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. Scientists have learned more about cancer in the last two decades than had been learned in all the centuries preceding. This doesn’t change the fact, however, that all scientific knowledge is based on the knowledge already acquired by the hard work and discovery of our predecessors – and we know that there’s still a lot more to learn.”
What do you think? How do you think Biden’s dedication will impact finding a cure for cancer? Will America be the country to offer that cure first? Comment below, or reach out to me at [email protected].
