The panel of National Cancer Advisory Board experts advising the Obama administration on its Cancer Moonshot initiative will present its final recommendations to the board next week. The recommendations should be made public by September.
The Moonshot initiative President Barack Obama launched in January aims for 10 years of progress in cancer research and treatment in the next five years.
The National Cancer Institute created what it calls a blue ribbon panel of nearly 30 doctors, scientists, researchers and patient advocates to advise the board on the initiative. The panel established seven working groups with 12 to 20 members each. The groups are expected to have two or three recommendations that could transform cancer research.
During a teleconference meeting last week of the NCI Council of Research Advocates, some blue ribbon panel members spoke about their work on the recommendations. David Arons, CEO of the National Brain Tumor Society and chairman of the National Cancer Advisory Board, said his group's charge is to focus on making it easier for patients to find and participate in clinical trials. The scientists in the group created space for patient advocates such as himself to speak up for cancer patients.
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship CEO Shelly Fuld Nasso, a member of the implementation sciences group, agreed that one of the initiative's main goals is to remember the patients' roles.
“While we're looking for cures in the Moonshot and treatments, we're thinking of quality of life during and after treatment,” she said.
