President Obama announced a new push to find a cure for cancer during his State of the Union address last week. He put Vice President Biden in charge of what he refers to as a "moonshot" for the nation.
As Erin Burnett reports, Biden got the ball rolling over the weekend.
--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS--
(Vice President Biden/no font): "We can fundamentally change the life circumstances of millions of people around the world."
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN KICKED OFF HIS FIGHT AGAINST CANCER IN PHILADELPHIA , DAYS AFTER THE PRESIDENT TASKED HIM WITH A NEW NATIONAL MOONSHOT TO MAKE AMERICA THE COUNTRY THAT CURES CANCER ONCE AND FOR ALL.
(Obama/no font): "I'm putting Joe in charge of mission control (applause)."
THE ANNOUNCEMENT COINCIDING THIS WEEK WITH THE CANCER DEATHS OF DAVID BOWIE, ALAN RICKMAN AND THE HUSBAND OF CELINE DION, RENE ANGELIL.
...AND JUST SEVEN MONTH'S AFTER THE VICE PRESIDENT'S SON BEAU LOST HIS OWN BATTLE WITH CANCER.
(Vice President Biden, no font): "It's personal. but I know we can do this.//If I could be anything, I would've wanted to be the president that ended cancer, because it's possible."
BUT PRESIDENT'S HAVE WAGED WAR ON CANCER BEFORE AND LOST...
...AND ALREADY PROMINENT CANCER EXPERTS ARE LOWERING THE OPTIMISTIC RHETORIC.
(Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer, American Cancer Society): "While I think it's somewhat realistic, curing cancer perhaps not in the near future."
(Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Natworks): "I think the word cure is sort of a dangerous statement. The word I really prefer to use until we get closer to the cure is the ability to put the patient in remission with a high quality of life."
AN APPROACH THAT'S ALREADY WORKING FOR SOME CANCERS...
WHEN 14-YEAR-OLD NICK WILKINS' LEUKEMIA RESISTED CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION AND A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT, HIS DOCTORS TURNED TO THE REAL PROS: NICK'S OWN IMMUNE CELLS.
USING AN EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT, IN 2013 DOCTORS TAUGHT NICK'S IMMUNE SYSTEM TO ATTACK HIS CANCER IN MUCH THE SAME WAY HE'D FIGHT OFF THE COMMON COLD.
TWO MONTHS LATER, NICK WENT INTO COMPLETE REMISSION AND TODAY HERE HE IS -- HEALTHY.
ALSO IN DEVELOPMENT: SO-CALLED "SMART BOMB" DRUGS THAT GLOM ON TO CANCER CELLS, AND ONCE INSIDE, RELEASE TOXIC CHEMICALS.
BIDEN IS HOPING TO MAKE A DECADE WORTH OF ADVANCES IN JUST FIVE YEARS... AND SAYS AMERICA CAN DO BETTER AND DO MORE... BY INCREASING BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC RESOURCES TO FIGHT CANCER... AND BY GETTING SCIENTISTS TO WORK TOGETHER.
(Vice President Biden/no font): "I plan on doing this the rest of my life (applause)."
In that story, you heard the term immune system. Your immune system is your body's defense against infections -- it's made up of special cells, proteins, tissues and organs that protect us against germs and other tiny invaders.
Instructional Links
Interactive Multimedia Website: John F. Kennedy Library, We Choose the Moon
Website: Smithsonia, National Aeronautics and Space Museum, Space Race
https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/space-race/
Website Article & Video: Cancer Moonshoot, Launching the Moonshot for Cancer 2020