Changing Directions
in the Fight Against Cancer
 by Charles J. McDonald, MD,
physician-in-chief, department of dermatology, RIH
I was honored to be the first
Rhode Islander and the first dermatologist installed as the president of
the American Cancer Society. During my one-year term, I worked to help
the society meet its very ambitious goals of reducing cancer mortality
rates by half and reducing the incidence of cancer by 25 percent by
2015, and to move the society in new directions.
One of those new directions is
achieving equality by focusing greater emphasis on prostate cancer,
childhood cancers, colon and rectal cancer and melanoma skin cancer.
America spends $1.5 billion every year on AIDS, which kills 40,000
people annually; $875 million on breast cancer, which kills 40,000
annually; and 260 million on prostate cancer, which kills the same
number of people as AIDS and breast cancer. If we are to decrease the
death rate and the number of people diagnosed with cancer, we must
concentrate our energy and resources more equitably, continuing to fight
breast cancer but also conducting research on other kinds of cancer. The
American Cancer Society, which spends $100 million a year on research,
is proud of 30 recent Nobel prize winners in medicine received grants
given to them as junior investigators. We will continue to provide seed
money, to lead the way in the important work of cancer research.
We also must realize that we work
best when we work with organizations that have similar goals. An example
of what can be accomplished by a coalition of organizations is the
recent progress made in advocacy for prostate cancer. This cancer kills
African-American males at 2 times the rate of white males. Last year,
the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, National Cancer Institute,
Intercultural Cancer Council, NAACP and the American Cancer Society
joined with 100 Black Men of America to educate the African-American
community about this disease. Just a year later, most major cities offer
prostate cancer screening, education and research.
There is no magic wand that will
cure all cancers, but I'm confident that by broadening our research
and by building coalitions, we'll continue to make significant
progress. In the fight against cancer, as in all of life's challenges,
it's true that when people work together, putting forth their best
effort, they can accomplish great things.
|
