ASTRO shows support of Obama administration's final budget
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a statement in support of the White House’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget, which includes an increase of 13 percent in biomedical research funding at the National Cancer Institute.
The organization sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden detailing reasons it backs the budget.
“Never before have clinicians been able to induce remission in those suffering from cancer like they have today through the use of radiation therapy in combination with other treatment modalities,” Bruce D. Minsky, MD, ASTRO chair, said in the letter, which was then quoted in a prepared statement. “Now is the time for siloed fields to coalesce and synergize to drive progress in leaps rather than in small increments. … To do this, the funding structure must reflect the reality that the most successful treatment will not be a single modality but rather a combination that includes radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.”
In January, ASTRO issued a statement in support of President Obama’s recent “moonshot” call to cure cancer.
“ASTRO pledges its support of the initiative to bolster resources and foster collaboration among the oncology research community, as well as Vice President Biden’s call in October 2015 to ‘end cancer as we know it today,’” the statement read.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.