For the loved ones we've all lost, for the family we can still save, let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all." Cancer advocates all over the country rejoiced to hear President Obama say those words during his final State of the Union address and announce a new "moonshot" initiative to cure cancer to be led by Vice President Biden. Having Vice President Biden lead the moonshot initiative is quite touching given his recent, very personal connection to cancer with the loss of his son, Beau, last year. Additionally, the very idea for a "moonshot" proposal came during his announcement to not run for president in 2016. This new initiative comes on the heels of the largest increase in cancer research funding in over a decade. The recent increase was approved by Congress in the 2016 budget deal and could serve as kick start for the new moonshot initiative. With a $2 billion increase for medical research, this was a great start, but there is still work to be done to get back on track after a decade of funding reductions. ACS CAN's One Degree campaign was pivotal in securing the large increase in research funding in the 2016 budget. This year, the One Degree campaign will continue to work to secure additional cancer research funding to reach our overall goal of $1 Billion in new research funding for the National Cancer Institute. ACS CAN advocates from every state and every congressional district will once again call on Congress to increase funding for cancer research. Everyone is only One Degree from cancer and with the President's new "moonshot" initiative to finally cure cancer, there is no better time than right now to fund cancer research.
After months of delay and hard negotiations, Congress has finally passed a funding bill! The bill includes a small increase for cancer research and prevention programs.