President Biden to give 'Cancer Moonshot' speech at JFK Library
BOSTON - President Joe Biden is planning to give a speech at the John F. Kennedy Library on his ambitious goal to cut cancer deaths in health.
The White House said Biden will be at the JFK Library on Monday "to deliver remarks on the Cancer Moonshot and the goal of ending cancer as we know it."
Biden's remarks, which will take place on the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's famous "We choose to go to the moon" speech, will draw parallels between the former President's goal of landing a man on the moon and Biden's own "vision for another American moonshot -- a future where we end cancer as we know it," a White House official previewing the speech first to CNN said.
"When President Kennedy committed to putting a man on the moon and bringing him back, the United States had the building blocks to know that was possible. There were major scientific and societal advances that needed to happen. As a nation, we needed to fully commit to a future in which traveling to the moon was possible -- and we did just that," the official said.
"Today, we have many of the building blocks needed to make significant progress treating cancer, but we must come together to deliver on the promise. And because of incredible advances in science, technology, and medicine, we can already begin to see what is possible," the official added.
Earlier this year, Biden relaunched the government's $1.8 billion initiative to dramatically bring down the cancer death rate. The "moonshot" was first announced when Biden was vice president in 2016, not long after losing his son Beau to brain cancer.
The President has appointed a Cancer Cabinet, featuring representatives from 20 departments, agencies and the White House, including Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Dr. Alondra Nelson, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
This summer, the group unveiled five key priorities, including "(1) close the screening gap, (2) understand and address environmental exposure, (3) decrease the impact of preventable cancers, (4) bring cutting edge research through the pipeline to patients and communities, and (5) support patients and caregivers," according to the White House.
Cancer is the nation's second highest cause of death, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But the American Cancer Society earlier this year noted progress has been made as cancer mortality rates have fallen.
The overall cancer death rate dropped by about a third (32%) from its peak in 1991 to 2019, from about 215 deaths for every 100,000 people to about 146, averting about 3.5 million deaths during that time, according to an annual report on cancer statistics from the American Cancer Society. Most of that decline can be attributed to a drop in mortality among lung cancer patients.
Biden will also promote his recently passed infrastructure law while in Boston.
Vice President Kamala Harris was in Boston on Labor Day to show support for unions.
