Tag: cure cancer

Joe Biden’s Moonshot Needs More than $2 Billion

Timing, as they say, is everything. Last week I published a blog post – Is It Time to Rethink Our Approach to Cancer Treatment? – hours before President Obama’s state of the union address. During that address, the president announced that Vice President Joe Biden would lead a new initiative to end cancer.

Listening to the State of the Union address last week I wondered how President Obama would use this speech to influence his legacy. He made a number of points that we’d expect to hear supporting children, families, and the middle class. And then, from out of the blue (at least from my non-inner-circle perspective), he announced that the vice president would be taking charge of an initiative to end cancer: a new initiative in the Obama administration that was first introduced by the Nixon administration.

This appointment by President Obama was actually quite logical since the vice president had apparently called for a moonshot three months ago to cure cancer. It’s also a sentimental appointment on the heels of the death of Beau Biden, the vice president’s son, who lost his life to brain cancer last year.

This appointment came as no surprise to the vice president, who published a blog post following the SOTU and shared it via twitter. The blog shared the vice president’s plans to “accelerate our efforts to progress towards a cure.” He also indicated he wanted to hear from people if cancer had touched their lives. The vice president then went on to let us know that he intends to do two things:

  1. Increase resources — both private and public — to fight cancer.
  2. Break down silos and bring all the cancer fighters together — to work together, share information, and end cancer as we know it.

And that is when I sighed a heavy sigh. A sigh of cynicism, a sigh of sadness, a sigh of defeat. It sounds to me as though we are taking the same approach to dealing with cancer we’ve always taken. Now, simply because we’ve elevated the desire to deal with this disease we expect the same action to produce a different result.

Why, I wondered, were we continuing down the same road? The road of pouring seemingly endless amounts of money down a seemingly endless black hole? Increasing resources in my mind translates to more cash for the pharmaceutical companies. That might make sense to me if the results to date indicated this would be a promising route to take. Unfortunately, in 2015 cancer diagnoses in the US were expected top 1.5 million and cancer deaths were on track to surpass 500,000. It really makes me shake my head to think that $2 billion will be invested in the same fashion – more research conducted by the same people who have had access to billions upon billions of dollars in the past.

Is the vice president asking what will happen if we:

  • Explore the unconventional?
  • Invest in the science-based complementary treatments serving cancer patients so well?
  • Focus on at prevention?
  • Take a look at some “anecdotal” evidence?
  • Don’t invest $2 billion in research?

Since I’m not in the inner circle, I can’t say that these questions aren’t being asked. I’d be surprised, though, if discussion of any of these questions is on the agenda.

So…what did I do with my sighs of cynicism, sadness, and defeat? I let them take up a few moments of my time. Then I responded to the vice president’s request for information from anyone whose life had been touched by cancer by:

  • Leaving a response on his blog post.
  • Referencing his moonshot in a tweet or two.
  • Sending him a message via the White House website.

So far, no response. No worries. I’m off to write Vice President a note. After all, this moonshot could do us all a world of good if a few assumptions are kicked to the curb. My advice to the vice president is simple:

Be bold.
Be brave.
Ask difficult questions.

Joe Biden’s Moonshot Needs More than $2 Billion was last modified: December 1st, 2016 by Deb Nelson

Jon Huntsman, Sr.: On a Mission to Cure Cancer

Four-time cancer survivor Jon Huntsman’s willingness to spend his last dollar in search of a cure for cancer may prove that the cure isn’t all about money.

A man of integrity, Jon Huntsman, Sr. recently shared the story of his dreams and accomplishments in his book Barefoot to Billionaire: Reflections on a Life’s Work and a Promise to Cure Cancer. Here Huntsman makes it clear he has no intention of taking his last dollar with him. He plans to exit this world as he entered it: barefoot and broke. Huntsman will put his money to use by spending, investing, and sharing it during his lifetime.

Finding a cure for cancer is a lofty goal. After all, President Richard Nixon began our “war” on cancer in 1971. The progress we’ve made since then, in spite of the billions of dollars invested in research, is questionable at best. We celebrate as a success story any and all cancer patients who are alive five years after their original diagnosis. Yes, surviving five years sounds good. But what if you’re diagnosed at age 16: does living until 21 sound like a success story?

Let’s get back to Huntsman’s goal – identifying a cure for cancer. Don’t underestimate Huntsman’s perseverance, tenacity, and ability to meet goals. His approach to business has been questioned numerous times. In his book, Huntsman states:

Because we are headquartered in Utah, the big boys often look at us as hicks. As soon as they see signs of decency, openness, and straightforwardness, some take it as a sign of weakness and think they can take advantage of us. Some have found out the hard way that when cheated or threatened with an unfair set of playing rules, there is another side to Jon Huntsman, a tough side of which advantage can’t be taken.

This toughness in the corporate world translates well as Huntsman maps out his philanthropic investment plan. When partners reneged on their promises to assist with financing for a cancer institute, Huntsman Cancer Institute became a reality thanks to Plan B – something the masterful planner Huntsman always seems to have in his back pocket.

[M]y original partners pulled out, leaving me to put everything together myself. Today, I don’t rely on partners or other people. If I want something done, I figure out how to do it and I get it done.*

Huntsman continues to fund Huntsman Cancer Institute with the expectation that a cure for cancer will be uncovered. His namesake cancer institute is well known for research and the care it provides its patients. So, why did I imply that the answer may not be about money? Are too many people making too much money to stop this cancer industry we’ve created? As I’ve written before, I have to wonder “What if?” whenever I wonder why we haven’t found a cure for cancer. Here are a few more questions to ponder:

  • What if we already have a cure?
  • What if we take a closer look at T. Colin Campbell’s book The China Study and adjust our diet and lifestyle rather than suffering through surgery, drugs, radiation, and their debilitating side effects?
  • What if we check our assumptions at the door and read Raymond Francis’ book Never Fear Cancer Again?
  • What if while we look for that cure, we also pay attention to prevention like the folks at Less Cancer who believe Prevention is the Future?
  • What if everyone seeking a cure for cancer were motivated – as Huntsman is – to eliminate suffering, rather than to bulk up their bank accounts?

Like Huntsman and Francis, I imagine a day when we don’t fear a cancer diagnosis. I commend Huntsman for his efforts to remove cancer from our lives. I also encourage him to broaden his search and look under the unlikely stone to identify the cure he seeks. Never would I count Huntsman out – he is, after all, a man of his word. And, yes, I’d love to tour his cancer institute.

*From article in Summer 2012 Philanthropy Magazine.

Jon Huntsman, Sr.: On a Mission to Cure Cancer was last modified: December 1st, 2016 by Deb Nelson