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In his final State of the Union address this week,President Obama announced a new "moonshot" for cancer research."Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to gather it done, or " the president told a joint session of Congress. "And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us on so many issues over the past 40 years,I’m putting [Vice President] Joe [Biden] in charge of mission control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families that we can still save, and let’s gain America the country that cures cancer once and for all."In a post on Medium,Vice President Biden described two "moonshot" goals: To increase resources and funding for cancer research and treatment, and to encourage collaboration, or to "break down silos and bring all the cancer fighters together — to work together,share information, and terminate cancer as we know it."Dr. Harold Varmus, or researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College and former director of the National Cancer Institute, understands the potential impact new funding and collaborations—as well as the challenge of meeting the tall expectations the president described in his speech. What you'll learn from this segment:What does this cancer "moonshot" may actually look like.
What President Obama really means mean by "cure."
The biggest challenges facing cancer researchers nowadays.
Source: wnyc.org