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Renewed focus on a national initiative to cure cancer

By Dr. Lou DeGennaro | January 13, 2016

For more than 66 years The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has dedicated its energy and resources to finding cures for blood cancers, investing more than $1 billion over that time. Last night in his State of the Union address, President Obama appointed Vice President Joe Biden to take the lead in a “moon shot” mission to cure cancer. We at LLS agree the time is right.

“It’s personal for everybody,” the Vice President later said in a statement.

As Vice President Biden pointed out, everybody is touched by cancer.  He also lauded the innovations in data and technology, and new approaches to research, which are leading to remarkable progress in the ability to harness the body’s own immune system to fight  cancer, and more precise ways to target molecularly the cancer-driving genes.   Innovations in treating cancer are reaching patients at dizzying speed and we are at the cusp of seeing even more breakthroughs in the near future.