First Lady Jill Biden Celebrates World Cancer Day

March 10, 2021 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

In honor of World Cancer Day (https://www.worldcancerday.org/) on February 4, 2021, First Lady Jill Biden, EdD, took a virtual tour (https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/02/04/welcoming-first-lady-jill-biden-to-nih/) of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH's) National Cancer Institute (NCI) and met with NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, and NCI Director Ned Sharpless, MD, to discuss advancements in cancer research, the steady decline (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/us-sees-another-record-breaking-decrease-in-cancer-deaths-but-disparities-remain) in cancer mortality, and cancer-related legislation, among other topics.

"There is one challenge that unites us all, one thread of pain that runs through every community—north and south, rich and poor—and that's cancer," Jill Biden said.

After losing their son, Beau, to brain cancer (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/biden-says-us-will-work-to-end-cancer-as-we-know-it-after-covid-pandemic.html) at age 46, the Bidens have been integral proponents of cancer awareness and research, especially through the Moonshot Initiative (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/nci-gives-a-midpoint-progress-update-on-the-cancer-moonshot).  

In early March 2021, President Joe Biden met with bipartisan legislators (https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/541463-biden-convenes-bipartisan-meeting-on-cancer-research) to discuss investments in cancer research and treatment.

“I want you to know that, once we beat COVID-19, we’re going to do everything we can to end cancer as we know it,” Joe Biden said (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/19/remarks-by-president-biden-at-pfizer-manufacturing-site/?CategoryId=41) in his speech after touring Pfizer’s massive coronavirus vaccine manufacturing site in Kalamazoo, MI. “This administration is going to be guided by science—to save lives and to make lives better.”

Oncology nurses are perfectly positioned to advocate for themselves and their patients. To take advantage of this administration’s focus on ending cancer, get involved (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/get-involved-in-onss-health-policy-advocacy) with ONS advocacy efforts.


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