For the past 50 years, every significant medical breakthrough, especially in the treatment of cancer, has been linked to sustained federal investment in biomedical research. Any cuts to research funding would deal a devastating blow to cancer patients and their families, and the U.S. could lose its global competitive edge in biomedical research. That’s why I appreciated Sen. Collins holding a recent U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on biomedical research and taking time to meet with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteers.

As for my own cancer, multiple myeloma, chemotherapy can suppress the disease but cannot cure it. The chemo regimen eventually becomes ineffective, so that a new regimen has to be instituted, and when that one becomes ineffective, another regimen takes its place, and so on until the oncologists and their patients are out of options. From then on, it’s either a clinical trial or hospice.

This endless cycle of repeated chemotherapy trials and failures is exhausting for patients and their families and as a result a substantial effort is underway to find new therapy directions and an eventual cure for myeloma. None of this is possible without accelerated investments in cancer research. I am grateful to Sen. Collins’ continued leadership and commitment to funding cancer research. We must at least modestly increase the current level of funding to have a chance at a breakthrough with the treatment of myeloma and other incurable cancers.

Peter Bridgman, MD
Yarmouth