Many of us are still feeling the effect of last year sequestration.  The automatic budget cut known as sequester that threaten hundreds of thousand jobs cuts, and cut vital services for children, seniors, people with mental illness and our men and woman in uniform(“The Sequester”).  Among those funding cuts that are on the chopping block, funding for cancer research is one of them.

                The  National Cancer Act of 1971 was signed into law by the president Richard Nixon in 1971 and since then,  there has been a tremendous advancement in treatment and understanding of cancer. Despite the huge lifesaving benefits, with more than 13 million cancer survivors alive today,  our elected officials in Washington seem to careless because they are so busy with their political shown down that ultimately leads to the sequester begins March 1. According to National Institutes of Health, director Francis Collins, MD, the funding for the cancer research has remained flat for more than a decade, but 2013 is considered “darkest ever”  for the agency due to the budget sequestration.  The National Institutes of Health is not the only ones, the sequestration also threatens the technology and science communities as well according to “all thing research 2013” event (“Funding for Cancer Search”).

                2014 seems to be a better year for cancer research funding.  At least, there seems to be some lights at the end of the tunnel.  The Senate has agreed recently to pass a bill that is sponsored by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor(R-VA) called “The Gabriella Miler Kids First Research Act” which then signed into law by the president Obama on Thursday April 3^rd, 2014 wherein the funding of 126 million is directed into pediatric disease research at the National Institutes of Health (Goldberg, Korff,2014). 

(Source : http://majorityleader.gov/makinglifework/kids-first-research-act/)

                The passage of the bill seems to be a very small victory compares with the actual cut the National Institutes Health suffered but obviously, the research community would welcome any any additional resources it can get. At least, our policticians put aside their political differences and come to some agreements on  for the a good cause.

                The lack of the funding in cancel research as a result of sequestration clearly is a major setback for the for the research community and the longer it lasts, the more damages it will cause. “It is like a slow growing cancer,” said Steven Warrent, Vice Chanceller for research at University of Kansas(Stein).

                 We’ve seen the benefit, we know the effect  and for now , the only cure is clearly more funding is needed for cancer  research.