US Focus On 'War On Terror' Undermining 'War On Cancer'

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Bio-terrorism / Terrorism
Article Date: 26 Mar 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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An estimated US$2 billion shortfall in funding for the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) by the end of President George W Bush's second term in office threatens cancer care in the USA, according to an editorial in this month's The Lancet Oncology. Conversely, the amount allocated to US defence reaches $625 billion.

"The Bush administration's cynical attack on healthcare to offset the highest defence budget on record shows either an absence of forward planning or an incredible indifference towards the American people", says The Lancet Oncology.

The NCI has played a vital role in advancing research into cancer and in reducing cancer incidence and deaths in the USA. However, on the eve of the NCI's 70th anniversary later this year, President Bush's "disproportionate focus on the 'War on Terror' is. . .undermining the ability of the NCI to operate effectively", thus impacting cancer care for future generations, not only in the USA but worldwide.

In addition to cuts to the NCI's funding, the budgets of other vital agencies that contribute to the 'War on Cancer' are also being slashed. These include: $500 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; $78 billion from Medicare and Medicaid programmes; $800 million from the Veterans Health Administration; and $500 million from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Lancet Oncology calls on the US Government "to take a fresher, more humanitarian view on resource allocation", so that recent huge successes in tackling the devastating effects of cancer are not undermined by political shortsightedness and distorted priorities.

The Lancet Oncology

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