Cancer Cure News Update 2017: Former VP Joe Biden Continues Fight Against Cancer
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin on March 12 to talk about The Cancer Initiative, the program he spearheaded during his tenure as VP under the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force.
In his speech, Biden called the fight against cancer as the last bipartisan issue in the United States. He said the task force which he led as vice president inspired organizations aiming to look for a cure for the disease to form collaborations with other organizations, such as that between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Cancer Initiative.
Biden, who continues to raise money to continue the work of the task force, also emphasized in his speech the importance of federal budget for research in the fight against cancer. "Billions and billions of dollars come from taxpayers. Your government, that many of you don't like, is the vehicle of how this gets done," he said.
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The former vice president vowed to work with the current administration in continuing the fight against the disease and said he is confident that America can get it done. He also revealed that over the next few years, the task force will receive around $2 billion in federal funding.
Towards the end of his speech, Biden shared why fighting cancer has been a personal mission for him. He said in 2015, his son Beau died of brain cancer. As he dealt with his grief, he decided whether to run for the presidency the following year or not. According to Biden, he would have loved to be the next U.S. president but in the end, he finally realized he did not have the stomach to do it.
Since its establishment, the Cancer Moonshot Task Force has partnered with around 20 government agencies and over 70 organizations from the private sector.
