In December 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act and declared a “War on Cancer.” In the past 54 years, the U.S. has invested $180 billion nominally, or approximately $322 billion when adjusted for inflation, in cancer research. This investment has paid dividends with more than 100 anticancer drugs brought to market in half a century—virtually all traceable to National Cancer Institute funding.
Throughout my career as a physician and scientist, I’ve seen ideas once considered impossible become breakthroughs that save lives. They happened because talented scientists had the resources, institutions, and sustained support to pursue ambitious ideas. Most importantly, they knew patients could not afford to wait.
