Terry Thompson’s Blog

When we consider the “cancer economy,” we must understand where the money comes from and where it goes.  The biggest provider of funds for cancer research is the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a government funded agency.  Its budget proposal for 2010 was $5.1 billion.  This budget has increased more than 50% in the last decade.  The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a non-government fund raising institution that receives most of its money through donations from major fund raising projects.  The ACS took in $1.8 billion in public support, grants, gains, and investments in 2008.  These two flagship institutions manage most of the billions of dollars that are collected and funneled into the hundreds of research programs and medical institutions each year.  Whether from taxes paid or donations volunteered, each and every one of us shares in providing both institutions well over $6 billion annually year after year.  Of course, there are many other national and local charities, such as the Komen Foundation, that raise the total price of the war on cancer far above that amount.

Cancer fund raising has become a national pastime. It is integrated into our very culture.  Seemingly, almost every occasion for social outlet has a “proceeds to benefit cancer research” attached to it.  And, who has not made an impulse purchase because it had a pink ribbon associated with it?  Some methods are as bland as contributing profits from premium priced postage stamps.  Others are as bizarre as peddling calendars featuring nude men or women baring it all in the name of cancer research.  Whether we are running shoulder to shoulder with a thousand others in a 10K or dropping our loose change in a can at a fast food restaurant, we are touched almost every day by the constant beckoning to donate a part of ourselves to fight the war on cancer.

The pervasive public and private effort to fund this war is presented as a backdrop for the premise of my book, A New Strategy for the War on Cancer.  The magnitude of the “cancer economy” should be considered with every point addressed in the chapters.  Please don’t misunderstand me.  I am in no way critical of the institutional fund raising.  If we are to ever raise the flag of victory over this diabolical disease, it will take even more than the present level of national and international fiscal willpower.  The issue is not the money we are raising.  The issue is how we are spending it.

My next post will reveal just how much–actually how little–these funding organizations are providing for anything other than what supports conventional treatment.  The pittance of funding received for complementary therapy research will shock you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 17:27 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.