A NEW CANCER: ROBERT F KENNEDY

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has overseen significant cuts and freezes to federal funding for medical research since taking office in early 2025, including funds for cancer research. The specific actions include: 

• Cutting grants: The HHS under Kennedy has terminated numerous research projects and ended grants at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with some reports claiming over $355 million in canceled grants related to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) alone in the first months of 2025.

  
  

• Targeting mRNA research: Kennedy has specifically canceled about $500 million in grants and contracts for messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine development, which has caused concern among experts because the technology is also used for cancer vaccines and therapies.

  
  

• Arbitrary filtering: According to the Arizona Public Health Association, canceled NCI grants were chosen using "keyword-based filtering" for terms like "equity," "disparity," and "mRNA," rather than on scientific merit. This has reportedly disrupted the careers of scientists and could impair future research.

  
  

• Freezing grant-making: In addition to canceling projects, the HHS froze NIH grant-making, delaying billions of dollars in awards.

• Proposing further cuts: The Arizona Public Health Association reports Kennedy has proposed reducing the NCI budget from $7.2 billion to $4.5 billion for the next fiscal year. 

  
  

Kennedy and his allies frame the reductions as a necessary step to "Make America Healthy Again" (I would be overjoyed to never hear any iteration of this phrase again) by shifting focus and resources toward addressing the root causes of chronic disease, which they argue are neglected by the current medical establishment. The administration suggests that the cuts to mRNA research are based on the purported ineffectiveness of the technology against upper respiratory infections, a claim disputed by many public health experts.

There have been widespread criticisms from public health experts and officials

Kennedy's actions have been widely condemned by scientists, public health organizations, and congressional Democrats, who cite his history of anti-vaccine and anti-science views. 

In the end, the dialogue about cancer research funding is about much more than finances; it is about lives, hope, and the ongoing pursuit of cures. Let’s prioritize research that leads to breakthroughs and saves lives not political buffoonery.