For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 6, 2001
President Names Director of National Cancer Institute
Remarks by the President in Announcing Dr. Andrew Von Eschenbach as Director of the National Cancer Institute
Presidential Hall
THE PRESIDENT:
Thanks you all very much, and welcome to the
White House. Today our nation is in a war to defend our way
of life. But we've been engaged in a war to
defend our quality of life for many decades. The
war on cancer has been a top priority of medical and
research communities, and it's a top priority of this administration.
As we stand on the brink of amazing breakthroughs in
cancer research,
breakthroughs that will lead to
new cancer therapies and, hopefully, to
cancer cures, I'm pleased to introduce the man
who will lead the National
Cancer Institute in its war on cancer, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach.
(Applause.)
I want to welcome Andy's family. Thank you all for
coming. I want to thank my friend, Tommy Thompson, for doing
such a fine job as the Secretary of Health and Human
Services. (Applause.) Another member of my
Cabinet is here, the Director of Homeland Security, Governor Tom
Ridge. Thank you for
coming. (Applause.) And
I've got to recognize my parents' old
Congressman, Bill Archer, from Houston. Thank you for
coming. (Applause.) Tell them hello back home.
Thirty years ago, this month, President Richard Nixon
signed into law
legislation authorizing the director
of the National Cancer Institute to
develop an expanded, intensified and coordinated
cancer research program. The Cancer Progress
Report of 2001 was released earlier this week, and it contains good
news.
We've made substantial progress in
the war on cancer over the past three decades.
Advances in science to prevent, detect and treat
cancer have directly contributed to an overall reduction in
both new cancer cases
and cancer death rates.
The National Cancer Institute has provided the funding and
the expertise to make money of these advances possible -- many of these
advances possible.
The NCI has funded billions of dollars in research, exploring
hundreds of methods to combat cancer. We know
that early detection often makes the difference between life
and death. So NCI-funded scientists are exploring effective
methods to detect the first signs of cancer.
We know that more focused cancer
treatments can make cancer therapy less painful.
So NCI-funded scientists are actively investigating drugs
that may stop tumor growth by
preventing new blood vessels from reaching the tumor.
We still have a long way to go. Despite our victories,
each day 3,400 Americans are diagnosed with some
form of cancer, and more than 1,500 die from the
disease. Almost every American family has been touched by
cancer. But each new discovery brings
hope. And the government can bolster that hope by funding
vital medical research and by attracting talented people to conduct the
research.
Andy von Eschenbach is one of
America's finest medical researchers. He got his start in the medical
field right here in Washington, D.C., where
he attended Georgetown University
Medical School. He's been a member of
the faculty at the University of
Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas since 1977.
Andy is the Director of M.D. Anderson's
prostate cancer research program.
He is a professor of urology, a consulting
professor of cancer
biology, and a surgeon.
He understands that basic research is
the
foundation to any success in eliminating cancer, and that research
breakthroughs must be translated into effective treatments for
patients.
Andy also understands personally the importance of our
war on cancer. He
is a two-time cancer survivor, all too familiar with cancer's
frightening effects. He will bring to his new
position not only expertise
and talent and dedication, but compassion for the
millions of cancer patients and their families who are struggling with
this disease.
Several principles will guide the National
Cancer Institute. The
Institute will fund and conduct aggressive,
basic research in order to understand the
fundamental nature of cancer.
NCI researchers and clinicians will collaborate
with other federal health agencies to translate
advances in research into new tools to fight cancer. NCI
will work cooperatively with other government agencies and with private
organizations to expand research opportunities.
Researchers and practitioners will
not only strive to eliminate and
cure cancer, but to help
cancer survivors lead richer and fuller lives.
And the Institute will conduct
research to help close the prevention and treatment gap for minorities
who are disproportionately affected by cancer.
Our war against cancer is a war
waged on behalf of all Americans of
every background.
We now have technologies and research
opportunities
unthinkable just years ago, which
make the defeat of cancer a realistic hope. With the right
leadership, the dreams of three decades of research,
and the hopes of every person and every family
struggling with cancer, we may reach our goal within the new
decade. And we've chosen a great man to lead the cause.
Welcome. (Applause.)
DR. VON ESCHENBACH:
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you for bestowing on me the greatest honor
and responsibility of my life.
Secretary Thompson, ladies and gentlemen of the cancer
community, God
has blessed America. And among those
abundant blessings are our nation's incredibly brilliant and innovative
scientists and clinicians, many of whom are gathered in this room.
I am especially pleased that many from
the National Institutes of Health
and the National Cancer Institute are here. I
consider it a singular privilege to be chosen to be your associate.
Over these past few decades,
throughout this country, dedicated men
and women, such as these,
have been unlocking the secrets of the cancer
cell and identifying the genes and
proteins that are responsible for the development and progression of a
malignant tumor.
For the one in two men, and the one of three women in this country
who
will be told that they have
cancer, this new knowledge is creating new
hope, because when we understand how a cancer
develops, we can understand how to intervene and halt that process.
As the Director of the National Cancer Institute, I will be devoted
to nurturing and promoting the paradigm of discovery through basic
research.
America is blessed and grateful to you, Mr.
President, for your
leadership, your commitment and support to accelerate the
biomedical research needed to understand cancer at the genetic,
molecular and cellular
level. But we have recognized that scientific discovery, although
essential, is not sufficient.
We cannot rest until we translate our new understanding of cancer
into interventions that will detect cancer, new
drugs that will treat and even prevent cancer.
Only then can scientific discovery result in saved lives
and reduced suffering. And once
discovered and developed, we must assure
that these new interventions are delivered to
patients and communities at risk.
Discovery, development and delivery of
state-of-the-art cancer care
and control requires collaboration. As
NCI Director, I am determined to support
Secretary Thompson
and our department's effort to create
collaborations among federal and state agencies, public and private
institutions, cancer organizations and
cancer survivors, groups that are crucial to accelerating the process
from discovery to delivery.
I'm so pleased that so many
representatives of the cancer community
have gathered here today. Working
together one-on-one, or collectively,
through entities like the National
Dialogue on Cancer, we will discover,
and we will assure state-of-the-art cancer care for all Americans,
especially those who are bearing a disproportionate burden of this
disease.
God has blessed America with talent, resources
and resolve. And today, Mr. President,
I am blessed by your trust and your confidence. To
those to whom much is given,
much is expected. I pledge to honor your trust
by following your
example of
fostering cooperations and collaborations that
make it possible for Americans to meet any challenge -- even the
challenge of conquering cancer.
To the more than 1 million Americans who are diagnosed
each year with
cancer and in remembrance of
all those who have died of this disease, I
pledge that we will not rest or yield until we
have fulfilled the promise of eliminating the suffering and death
caused by cancer.
And in response to God's abundant blessings on America, we will not
do this for ourselves, but will reach out to share our gifts with all
nations,
and respond to the call to
eliminate from the world the horror we call cancer.
My heartfelt thanks and appreciation
to you, Mr. President, and to you, Mr. Secretary,
and to the cancer community and to my wife, Madeleine
and our family.
May God continue to bless America and
all of you. (Applause.)