Patrick Swayze Pleas For More Cancer Funding for Struggling Patients
Patrick Swayze wrote an impassioned editorial in The Washington Post to ask the government for an increase in funds to research and fight cancer. Swazye says that although he has the resources to pay for cancer treatments, many Americans do not. Swayze argues that that the two bills for cancer research funding should be part of the economic stimulus package.
Congress is facing two proposals: a bill approved by the House of Representatives, which includes $3.5 billion for the NIH, and a Senate bill that provides $10 billion for lifesaving scientific work. At a moment when our economy is on its back, the money will also create high-paying jobs and spark economic activity in every part of the United States: The NIH funds projects at hospitals, universities and medical research facilities in towns and cities in each of the 50 states. This money will help every region of America, as well as the individual Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer across the land. Congress should be aggressive and vote for the $10 billion.
The Senate measure would provide funds for thousands of research projects that have already passed through scientific review and can start at a moment's notice. On average, these projects support seven jobs each, according to Acting NIH Director Raynard S. Kington -- which would create tens of thousands of jobs nationwide if Congress approved the full $10 billion. According to Families USA, a nonprofit group that works for better health care, every dollar in federal research spending generates about $2.20 in total economic activity in communities that host funded projects -- about $22 billion in all under the Senate measure.
And lest we forget: Medical research will also extend and save lives, expand treatment options and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.
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Every year, life-threatening illnesses deprive the economy of hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of lost work time and productive output. Investment in medical research will cut that loss dramatically. The University of Chicago economists Kevin M. Murphy and Robert H. Topel recently estimated that reducing cancer deaths by just 1 percent would provide a $500 billion benefit to the economy in productivity gains and lower health care costs. What we sometimes call "human capital" and what I call "people power" is the most important infrastructure there is.
So here's my plea to Congress: Stand up to cancer. Stand up for people fighting serious disease. Stand up and help restore America's economy. Stand up and help build a prosperous and healthy future for our people by giving the NIH $10 billion for research. Stand up to create jobs, fight illness and deliver hope.
