One day in 1996, in my role as chief science correspondent for NBC News, I was rummaging through the usual huge (pre-internet) pile of press releases on my desk and zeroed in on one: a phase III trial of a treatment for an aggressive type of breast cancer that was desperate to accrue volunteers.
In last week’s issue of The Cancer Letter, Jacquelyn Cobb, associate editor, wrote a story about the then-promising legislative package that was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 22. At the time, the package was expected to pass in the Senate, provide funding for the federal government through fiscal year 2026, and prevent a government shutdown that looms Jan. 30.
