Fund A Cure for Pancreatic Cancer statement on William Safire's passing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 28, 2009 -- TO: ALL MEDIA
FROM: FUND A CURE FOR PANCREATIC CANCER, contact Robert L. Ciervo, Ph.D. 215-932-3200, robert@fundacure.com
RE: Passing of William Safire to Pancreatic Cancer
DATE: September 28, 2009

NEWTOWN, PA – Once again pancreatic cancer has claimed the life of another notable American. We are saddened to learn that New York Times columnist William Safire succumbed to pancreatic cancer yesterday.

Safire won a Pulitzer Prize for his writings and formerly served as a speechwriter for President Nixon. After leaving the Nixon administration he won acclaim for his writings including a language column that he penned for the Sunday edition of the New York Times from 1979 up until this year.

It is evident more than ever that the federal government through the National Cancer Institute must commit more than $73 million a year towards life saving research, especially when far less deadly diseases enjoy government appropriations of upwards and beyond of $1 billion a year towards specific disease research. The fact that pancreatic cancer has the worst prognosis of any major cancer, takes away as nearly as many lives as breast cancer each year, but is 11th on the funding priority of the National Cancer Institute must change. It is completely inappropriate for the Director of the National Cancer Institute to spend less than 2% of the yearly budget on pancreatic cancer research.

This change is necessary in order to increase the 5 year survival rates for pancreatic cancer higher than the current 5% and upwards to the 90% that currently exist for breast cancer and prostate cancer. It is now time for Congress to intervene and investigate why the Director, Dr. John Niederhuber, continues to purposely underfund pancreatic cancer research.

The American Cancer Society predicts that 35,240 Americans will die of pancreatic cancer this year. That is 96 Americans a day, nearly the same number that will succumb to breast cancer each day this year.

The continuance of the extremely low level of private and public funding for much needed pancreatic cancer research will keep survival rates low indefinitely and Americans will continue to die at quicker rates.

It is time to Fund A Cure. Now.

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columnist     New York Times     nixon     NY Times     pancreatic cancer     speechwriter     William Safire