WHAT THIS BILL DOES

Each year, Congress works to pass appropriations bills to fund federal programs and priorities including cancer and other biomedical research at the NIH and the NCI. This federal funding ensures that research continues to save lives, drive innovation, strengthen the medical workforce, and fuel economic growth across the country. The NIH and NCI award more than 80% of their funding to individual researchers and projects at labs across the country including Dana-Farber.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Federal funding has played a key role in every step in the progress we’ve made in the research discoveries and innovations to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. Research means that there are over 18 million cancer survivors today, double the number since 2001, and 6x the number in 1971. Between 1991 and 2021, we’ve seen a 33% decrease in the cancer death rate with 4.1 million fewer deaths. Today, 2 out of 3 patients live five years longer after diagnosis. While 40 years ago, it was just 1 out of 2.

But, despite all this progress and amazing innovation, cancer is still the nation’s #2 killer. Over 2 million Americans will be told this year that they have cancer and more than 618,000 will die from the disease. That means that almost 1,700 individuals will die each day from cancer in this country.

So, although federal investment in cancer and other research has undoubtedly saved lives, we will not stop until all cancer patients have that same opportunity. Without sustained federal funding increases in cancer research, this progress is in danger.