Vice President Joe Biden was in Cleveland today to talk about boosting cancer research. He addressed the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit.
About a year ago, Vice President Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer, called for a “cancer moonshot” to eradicate the disease. Earlier this year, President Obama launched a federal taskforce aimed ay directing a decade of progress toward a cure in just five years. At the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit, Biden listed some of the progress, including heightened prevention efforts, easier and quicker access to clinical trials, and, most importantly, better sharing of research data.
“The health-care industry, especially, needs accuracy in forecasting, not soon, but now. If we could gather data from multiple sources and merge it and allow correlations, a new McKinsey study report says we could guide doctors and diagnosis in treatments and boost productivity by 0.7 percent every year.”
Biden says combining more genetic and lifestyle information from cancer patients with the power of supercomputers will help researchers better understand what treatments will work best for different cancers. Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Toby Cosgrove, praised the vice president’s work in boosting cancer research.
“The Cancer Moonshot has catalyzed dozens of ideas, ventures and collaborations in the private sector, laying the groundwork for a new generation of cancer discovery and innovation. The vice president’s personal commitment and leadership has played no small role in creating this momentum. He has turned his personal tragedy into a benefit for millions.”
Cosgrove says he doubts cancer will be cured in our lifetimes, but many cancers are now treatable. And he says with current and future progress, other cancers have been and will be reduced to chronic conditions instead of death sentences.
