The death of “PBS NewsHour” anchorwoman Gwen Ifill from cancer stuns us and saddens us.
When we see the word “cancer,” we cry. Again. Cancer has struck again. We all know someone in its path. We all know someone cancer stole.
{mosads}So here we are in November 2016. Amidst all the political talk of servers and soundbites, candidates and campaigns, the real conversation should be about solving a deadly disease that robs us of people we love. Cancer research should be way higher on our list of concerns than whose emails to read.
Vice President Joe Biden talks about the search for cancer as a “Moonshot,” and indeed we need something akin to landing on the moon to figure out how to unlock the mystery of this killer.
Cancer moves from breasts to brains, from lungs to livers, hopping around like a terrorist on the loose. We need to figure out how to stop it in its tracks and give its victims reason to hope and live.
We can start being a bit more hopeful, though, because there is a headline you might have missed. One area of growing research and promise lies in immunotherapy. And new developments are cause for a bit of optimism.
In national cancer centers like Georgetown University, which has a comprehensive cancer center, and other major facilities around the country and around the world, and within pharmaceutical labs, at institutes and research hubs, there is excitement at the early signs that cancer may respond to drugs that unleash our immune systems to fight back against those unruly cancerous cells and tumors.
Immunotherapy is leading us to potential cures for cancer. T-cells from a cancer patient, when injected into the environment of a tumor, can actually spark action by the human immune system which can recognize cancer cells and wage war against them. Drugs known as “checkpoint inhibitors” get the immune system in gear.
More and more research is demonstrating the increased effectiveness of these drugs against a broad array of cancers. Combined with, or substituting for traditional chemotherapy or radiation, new drugs hold great promise for battling cancer. Early trials are showing extended life, greater survival rates and patient progress not seen for decades.
This is an exciting time to be in cancer research. But what we need most right now are more clinical trials and more dollars. Rather than giving to political action committees and ad buys for campaigns, let’s open our minds and wallets to something very concrete: fighting cancer.
We have many fights on our hands these days, from countering violent extremism to combating climate change. But we can’t fight battles without fighters — human beings with the hearts and minds to solve problems.
Let’s not let cancer take our best and brightest. It is worth reminding ourselves that cancer does not care what party you belong to. Nor does it care what race, religion or nationality you are. Cancer respects no borders and has no ideology. It is our collective problem to solve.
Now is the moment to take up a real fight: curing cancer.
Sonenshine is a senior career coach at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She served as undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.