Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Cancer research can’t afford cuts

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I am very concerned that the March 1 mandatory cuts in federal funding will affect the progress made in the fight against cancer. Federal dollars spent on medical research have produced breakthroughs that are saving the lives of people with cancer. These cuts could have a real impact on people in Nevada.

Last year, it was projected that 13,780 Nevadans would be diagnosed with cancer. Last June, I was one of those people who heard the words, “You have cancer.” It was the third time in my life.

When we moved to Summerlin in 1999 from California, I had just been diagnosed with an incurable leukemia and started on a clinical trial here that was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. I am fortunate that after almost 14 years, I am still at stage zero due to the clinical trial.

Yes, I am very worried that the mandatory cuts will stop the progress made, and I urge members of Congress to work together to avoid a mindless cut and to sustain federal funding for research in a way that will leverage past progress and spur future discovery.

The author is a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

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