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CHICAGO, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --President Barack Obama is the
first new President to develop a comprehensive cancer plan.
While the plan reflects strong emphasis on oncology, disturbingly no
reference is made to prevention, and the wide range of avoidable causes of
cancer.
The plan defines and coordinates the responsibilities of four federal
agencies: the National Cancer Institute (NCI), for research and clinical
trials; the
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, for epidemiological follow up and support of
cancer survivors; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for
funding cancer related care; and the
FDA, for regulating cancer drugs.
In 1971, Congress passed the National
Cancer Act which authorized the National Cancer Program, calling for
"an expanded and intensified research program for the prevention of
cancer caused by occupational or environmental exposures to
carcinogens." Shortly afterwards, President Richard Nixon announced
his "War Against Cancer," and authorized a $200 million budget
for the
NCI. Since then,
its budget has escalated by nearly 30-fold, to $5.3 billion this year.
Meanwhile, the incidence of a wide range of cancers, other than those
due to smoking, has escalated sharply from 1975 to 2005, when the latest
NCI statistics were
published. These include malignant melanoma (172%), Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
(79%), thyroid (116%), testis (60%), and childhood cancers (38%).
As widely reported in the November 26, 2008, press, the NCI claimed that
the incidence of new cancers has been falling from 1999 to 2005. However,
this is contrary to its latest statistics. These show increases of 45% for
thyroid cancer, 18% for malignant melanoma, 18% for kidney cancer, 10% for
childhood cancers, and 4% for testes cancer.
Disturbingly, the NCI has still failed to develop, let alone publicize,
any listing or registry of avoidable exposures to a wide range of
carcinogens. These include: some pharmaceuticals; high dose diagnostic
radiation; occupational; environmental; and ingredients in consumer
products -- food, household products, and cosmetics and personal care
products. The NCI has also failed to respond, other than misleadingly or
dismissively, to prior Congressional requests for such information.
In March 1998, in a series of questions to then NCI Director Dr. Richard
Klausner,
Congressman
David Obey requested information on NCI's policies and priorities. He
asked "Should the NCI develop a registry of avoidable carcinogens and
make this information widely available to the public?" The answer was,
and remains, no. Klausner's responses made it clear that NCI
persisted in indifference to cancer prevention, coupled with imbalanced
emphasis on damage control--screening, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical
trials.
Moreover, NCI's claims for the success of "innovative
treatment" have been sharply criticized by distinguished oncologists.
In 2004, Nobelist
Leland Hartwell, President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Control Center, warned that "Congress and the public are not paying
NCI $4.7 billion a year," most of which is spent on "promoting
ineffective drugs" for terminal disease.
It should be further emphasized that the costs of new biotech cancer
drugs have increased more than 100-fold over the last decade. Furthermore,
the U.S. spends five times more than the U.K. on chemotherapy per patient,
although their survival rates are similar.
The Obama Cancer Plan is subject to Congressional authorization, and
funding approval by Congressman David Obey, Chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, and Senator Robert Byrd, Chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Committee. These committees are now in a position to require
that major priority should be directed to cancer prevention rather than
just to oncology. Clearly, the more cancer is prevented, the less there is
to treat. As importantly, this will also be of major help in achieving
President Obama's goal "to lower health care costs."
As cancer prevention scientists and advocates, we strongly welcome the
new Administration with joy and hope.
Samuel S. Epstein, MD
Professor emeritus
Environmental & Occupational Medicine
University of Illinois at
Chicago School of Public Health,
Chairman, Cancer Prevention
Coalition
2121 West Taylor Street, MC 922
Chicago, IL 60612
e-mail
epstein@uic.edu
ENDORSERS Nicholas A. Ashford, PhD, JD Professor of Technology and Policy Director, MIT Technology and Law Program Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Rosalie Bertell, PhD International Association for Humanitarian Medicine International Science Oversight Committee for the Organic Consumers Association Yardley, Pennsylvania James Brophy, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Board of Directors, Toxic Free Canada University of Windsor Ontario, Canada Richard Clapp, D.Sc., MPH Professor Boston University School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts Paul Connett, PhD Professor Emeritus of Environmental Chemistry, St. Lawrence University Canton, New York; Executive Director Fluoride Action Network Canton, New York Ronnie Cummins National Director Organic Consumers Association Finland, Minnesota Tracey Easthope, MPH Director, Environmental Health Project Ecology Center Ann Arbor, Michigan Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD Professor Department of Oncology University Hospital Orebro, Sweden Hazel Henderson, D.Sc.Hon., FRSA, author, futurist President, Ethical Markets Media, LLC; Co-Creator, the Calvert Group of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators Margaret Keith, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Board of Directors Toxic Free Canada University of Windsor Ontario, Canada Joseph Mangano, MPH, MBA Executive Director Radiation and Public Health Project New York, New York James R. Melloh, MD, MS Robert Wood Johnson Family Medicine Fellow Physicians for Social Responsibility Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine Portland, Maine Vicente Navarro, MD, PhD Professor of Health Policy The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Baltimore, Maryland Peter Orris, MD, MPH, FACP, FACOEM Professor and Chief of Service Environmental and Occupational Medicine University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center; Professor, Internal and Preventive Medicine Rush University College of Medicine; Professor, Preventive Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, Illinois Lawrence A. Plumlee, MD President, Chemical Sensitivity Disorders Association Bethesda, Maryland Horst Rechelbacher President, Intelligent Nutrients Minneapolis, Minnesota Janette D. Sherman, MD Adjunct Professor Environmental Institute Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan Eileen M. Wright, MD, ABIHM Great Smokies Medical Center Asheville, North Carolina Daphne Wysham Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies Washington, District of Columbia Quentin D. Young, MD Chairman, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group Chicago, Illinois CONTACT: Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. 312-996-2297, fax: 312-413-9898 (include cover sheet), epstein@uic.edu
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