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Uploaded: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, 1:27 PM
Eshoo celebrates passage of new cancer-research law
New law meant to push deadliest cancers to the frontlines of research
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 | Flanked by the wife of the late actor and cancer victim Patrick Swayze, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo today celebrated the passage of a law that requires the federal government to fight harder against the most deadly cancers.
Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, co-sponsored the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama on Jan. 3. The law directs the National Cancer Institute to focus on early detection and treatment of cancers with very low survival rates -- including pancreatic cancer, which has the lowest survival rate of the five major cancers.
"A very dear friend of mine, Ambassador Richard Sklar, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer," Eshoo said at a news conference at Stanford Hospital this morning. "It really took a toll on us, and when I asked why I haven't heard from (victims) about this, he said, 'because they're all dead.'" Eshoo continued, "Pancreatic cancer is one of the recalcitrant cancers -- one that is essentially a death sentence."
The congresswoman said the law is meant to push such cancers to the frontlines of research. According to Eshoo, pancreatic cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate of all the major cancers, at just 6 percent. Seventy-five percent of victims die within the first year of their diagnosis, she said.— Bay City News Service Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by vfree, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Jan 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm Only the US Congress could be so arrogant to think they could pass a law to cure cancer.
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Posted by USA, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Jan 10, 2013 at 1:19 pm Congress directing scientific research
Who does she think she is? Al Gore?
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Posted by gcoladon, a resident of the Slater neighborhood, on Jan 11, 2013 at 10:31 am
gcoladon is a member (registered user) of Mountain View Online I would really like to find out why the federal government needs to be involved in this. Don't private entities like medical research labs and oncologists and drug companies and health insurance companies and hospitals all already have the incentives to develop cures for cancers? And if they don't, why is it the federal government's job to involve itself?
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Posted by palo alto parent, a resident of another community, on Jan 12, 2013 at 2:21 pm Recalcitrant Cancers are ones that are extremely hard to detect and cure. The is MUCH less incentive for medical research for these cancers and the patients often die before they can participate in clinical trials. This bill provides a framework for research for these cancers, the Government is not actually funding the research. The National Cancer Institute will provide guidelines for early detection, and establish a scientific framework within which they must “identify scientific advancements, evaluate the sufficiency of researchers, and outline a plan for ongoing research.”
Illnesses that are difficult to diagnose and cure are not financially lucrative to develop dures for, therefore the need for some government support.
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