Kennedy: Funding vital for cancer research
By Rob Levy
Sen. Kennedy praised research grants and challenged federal cutbacks during his lecture address
With praise for Dana-Farber's contributions to the fight against cancer, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts used the 10th annual Andrew H. Weinberg Memorial Lecture – delivered at the Dana-Farber on July 21 – to sound a warning about the impact of proposed reductions in federal funding for cancer research.
Kennedy, a longtime champion of national health insurance and strong government support for medical research, delivered the lecture, titled "Fulfilling the Potential of the Century of Life Sciences," to an audience of DFCI staff who filled the Jimmy Fund Auditorium and lined its walls two rows deep. The lecture, named for a young Dana-Farber patient who died of a rare muscle tumor, presents prominent investigators, medical professionals and policymakers with a platform for discussing new approaches and trends in cancer research.
Kennedy, whose son, Ted Jr., was treated here for bone cancer, cited Dana-Farber's history of research and discovery as evidence that advances against cancer are the result of sustained, determined effort. "We all had to fight hard to create the extraordinary medical innovations we enjoy today," he remarked, "and we have to fight just as hard now to maintain that progress. A culture of innovation and discovery and high-quality health care does not just happen. It must be nurtured, or it will wither."
Unfortunately, he continued, recent events in Washington threaten to undermine that progress and weaken the United States' role as a leader in medical science. On July 19, President Bush vetoed a bill to expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research on the grounds that it involves the destruction of human embryos.
Kennedy lamented that Bush used the first veto of his presidency to block research with so much potential benefit, saying, "That veto does not extinguish our hope in the promise of that research or end our determination to … seek new cures for the patients who so urgently need them. We'll try again next year and the year after and the year after until we get it." These words drew strong applause from the audience.
Kennedy also decried a stagnation in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the prime source of federally sponsored medical research dollars. "Under the President's budget proposal, NIH will receive a billion [dollars] less next year than is needed to keep up with inflation," Kennedy asserted. "Its budget will be flat for two years running. That has not been allowed to happen in more than half a century. If these budget recommendations are enacted … the NIH will fall behind in the search for new cures."
Another disappointment, Kennedy said, was Congress' failure two years ago to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. Noting that the "tobacco industry has a long, dishonorable history of providing misleading information about the health consequences of smoking," Kennedy said he has reintroduced the bill in the current Congress.
Despite these setbacks, Kennedy said a powerful reason for optimism lies in the commitment and determination of the people who work at Dana-Farber. "Hope is what I feel whenever I come to Dana-Farber," he declared. "This is the place where hope so often becomes reality."
