A “moonshot” to cure cancer

By Rafael Trujillo 10/19/16

“We’re just getting started,” Vice President Joe Biden said in a gathering with health care professionals and researchers in Boston.

Biden leads an initiative named “Cancer Moonshot” which aims to accelerate the federal drug approval to make it easier for cancer patients to take part in clinical trials. The Obama administration encourages cancer researches to exchange information to develop better methods and help cancer patients.

Biden lost his son Beau Biden to cancer last year. The Vice President said more work has to be help disadvantages populations in cancer prevention and detection efforts. “This country has the capacity to do anything it sets its mind to, “Biden shared.  “We’re on the verge of something astounding breakthroughs, I promise you. Stuff that will absolutely take your breath away.”

Biden presides a task force conform by federal departments and agencies, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.  The task force wants to achieve in five years what usually takes ten years, which double the rate of progress in cancer and research treatment.

There are dozens of public and private sector initiatives highlighted in the “moonshot” report. Microsoft, Amazon and the National Cancer Institute collaborate building an online repository for cancer genomic data. The report also mentions aid from Uber and Lyft to expand free or reduced fares to help cancer patients attend their medical appointments.

Biden has promised to dedicate his life to find a cure for cancer, but Congress hasn’t approved hundreds of millions of dollars in funding “Cancer Moonshot.”