‘Full sprint’ may not be enough to meet White House cancer goals

In order to cut the cancer mortality rate in half within 25 years, national progress towards prevention, detection and treatment must increase from its current rate.

That was the message from the White House’s “cancer moonshot” coordinator Dr. Danielle Carnival on at The Hill’s “Cancer Care Access & Equity: Breaking Barriers to Innovation” event Thursday. 

“We have to make greater than the most progress we’ve made year-over-year in order to achieve that goal,” Carnival said. 

The White House cancer moonshot initiative is a national effort reignited by President Biden in 2022 to “end cancer as we know it.” The initial effort, launched in 2016 by former President Obama, aimed to accelerate scientific discovery surrounding cancer, foster collaboration and increase the sharing of cancer data. 

Now, Biden is aiming not only to decrease the number of deaths but improve the lives of those who are living with or have survived cancer.

Carnival was joined by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and leaders in the fight against cancer at the event, moderated by The Hill Editor in Chief Bob Cusack and sponsored by City of Hope, one of the country’s largest cancer research and treatment organizations.

Although cancer deaths have already decreased by 25 percent in the last two decades, Carnival noted that a lot of ground was lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of people were unable to access cancer screenings. 

Now, she said, the government needs to improve accessibility to screenings and remove barriers to care. This could include increasing time off from work, making sure people are able to travel to get the care they need or bringing early detection mechanisms to them.

“That’s on us,” she said. “But we need people to meet us halfway and to make sure that they’re not delaying and they’re taking care of their health early because it could have such a great impact on their ability to prevent or to survive a cancer.”

Kelly agreed that early detection is key and added that expanding access to telehealth would get more people the answers they need in time to “turn the ship around” toward a cure. 

Higgins added that educating the public on cancer-causing lifestyles, such as smoking, would increase survival rates.

While Carnival assured Cusack that the White House is in a “full sprint” toward these goals, Higgins acknowledged that simply stating a goal doesn’t mean it will be met.

“The administration has done its job by laying out a vision for what it is they would like to be able to see relative to cutting the incidences of cancer,” Higgins said. “But the question is, are the resources going to be there?”

Higgins said it will be up to Congress to provide the answer. The spending cuts agreed to in the debt ceiling compromise, he added, will not affect funding for cancer research.

Historically, Carnival said she has seen “robust bipartisan support” for cancer research and access. However, such bipartisan support must continue, Higgins said, if funding for cancer research is to remain a priority.

While Higgins noted that there are many issues in competition with cancer research, Kelly claimed the choice is easy.

“Funding alone is the key to winning this battle against this incredible disease,” Kelly said. “We always want to protect the most vulnerable, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything to give them a chance at life. So this vote, to me, is not even debatable. This is the easiest vote anybody will take.”