Cancer research is too crucial to be a partisan issue

Finding a cure for one of America's greatest threats must remain a priority, regardless of political affiliation

Jun 06, 2025

By Carron J. Phillips

“F*ck cancer.”

What began as a vulgar slogan quickly evolved into a rallying cry for those who have helplessly watched a loved one struggle with or succumb to the disease. But, lately, it’s started to feel like our current administration doesn’t give a f*ck about cancer.

“[Biden’s] been a sort of moderate person over his lifetime,” President Donald Trump said recently when asked about former President Joe Biden’s recent stage 4 cancer diagnosis. “Not a smart person, but a somewhat vicious person, I will say. If you feel sorry for him, don't feel so sorry, because he's vicious," he added. "What he did with his political opponent and all of the people that he hurt—he hurt a lot of people, Biden, and so I really don't feel sorry for him.”

The “leader of the free world” couldn’t even fake it for two weeks. He’d posted a message on social media days earlier in support of Biden.

“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,700 people will die from cancer each day this year. More than 2 million new cancer cases are anticipated, resulting in over 618,000 deaths, not including non-melanoma skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) lost $1.81 billion in medical research funding this year, according to new analysis from Reuters. The NIH is the world’s leading medical research agency and the largest funder of cancer research, distributing nearly $8 billion annually in funding for cancer science.

“Well it's more about the NIH, and the NIH has been a bureaucracy that we believe has been weaponized against the American people, we saw that in COVID,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said in a recent appearance on CNN when asked to explain why the Trump administration wants to cut billions from cancer research. It has become quite clear that those who opposed infectious diseases expert Anthony S. Fauci for enforcing mask mandates are now in control and determined to attack science.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a disaster, and Trump's ongoing attacks on higher education are harming cancer research, which predominantly occurs in university labs.

And that’s having a real effect: “I see a large number of people who should be at the great universities over the next 10-15 years trying to figure out how to bail out right now, and I’m afraid we’re going to lose a generation of America’s best researchers, and that’s going to be a huge setback for us,” Otis Brawley, an expert in cancer prevention and control at Johns Hopkins University, told The Hill.

“It may take us 20-30 years to overcome three or four years of the scientific system being ignored, devalued and even harmed by some of the stuff that’s going on now,” he added.

One of the programs impacted was Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative, which saw its funding frozen at Columbia and Harvard supposedly because of Trump's objections to the universities' management of campus protests related to the war in Gaza. The Cancer Moonshot program was launched by the Obama administration in 2016 with the goal of "eliminating cancer as we know it," supported by $1 billion in research funding. Biden relaunched the initiative in 2022.

Three years later, a former president, who dedicated his life to fighting cancer after it took his son's life, has been diagnosed with the disease himself. Meanwhile, the current president is mocking his diagnosis from the Oval Office and dismantling progress in cancer treatment.

Elections have consequences.

In a recent op-ed for MSNBC, oncologist Jalal Baig wrote that the budget cuts to cancer research would “not only dissuade future scientists from entering the country’s labs, but will also unconscionably swing the pendulum from life to death for many hopeful patients.”

Cancer knows no racial or gender boundaries. It doesn't matter who you pray to or if you pray at all. For decades, it has been one of America's most pressing issues, often bringing people together through shared grief. However, this connection born from heartache diminishes when the majority of the country elects a president who opposes science and cancer research. In such cases, empathy gives way to apathy.

In a country where serious matters are often labeled as "political," diseases like cancer fall into this category. With Trump seemingly determined to cut research funding, his supporters are discovering again that their loyalty to him is bad for their health.

If Trump's fight against cancer research doesn't awaken people's awareness, then nothing will.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University.