Dear Editor:
The recent White House budget proposal calling for a $1 billion cut to medical research for 2017 is devastating to me. Both of my parents are cancer survivors. My father had colon cancer, and my mother had a rare cancerous cyst in her ear canal. Other members of my family have faced cancer, and I have lost friends to this horrible disease. We are all just one degree from cancer.
The budget proposal simply doesn't make sense: Just last December, Congress demonstrated strong bipartisan support for the fight against cancer when they passed the 21st Century Cures Act. The bill dramatically boosted this country's investment in saving lives from cancer and included a $300 million increase for the National Cancer Institute in 2017. It is the wrong time to reverse course and stop the tremendous progress we've seen in treating and preventing cancer.
Sen. Roy Blunt knows this. He has long been a friend to medical research, and we have directly benefited here at home: Just last year, Missouri institutions received $509 million in NIH grants. I am proud that Sen. Blunt understands that now is the time to re-invest in cancer research.
Federally funded cancer research offers hope to the 34,400 Missourians who will be diagnosed this year. Join me in thanking Sen. Blunt for looking out for those fighting cancer both here at home and across the nation.
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