National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute was the first organization established by the government dedicated to cancer research. The institute focuses on understanding how cancer works, learning how to prevent and treat cancer, and develop the public's overall health. They are the leading cancer organization that emerged after the invention of chemotherapy.
"NIH campus ca. 1947. The National Cancer Institute 'Building 6' can be seen on the right." A Short History of the National Institutes of Health. 1947.
"NCI’s mission is to lead, conduct, and support cancer research across the nation to advance scientific knowledge and help all people live longer, healthier lives [...] NCI manages a broad range of research, training, and information dissemination activities that reach across the entire country, meeting the needs of all demographics—rich and poor, urban and rural, and all racial/ethnic populations."
National Cancer Act of 1937
Franklin Roosevelt's passage of this act established the NCI which presented the government's first attempts to fund research for a nontransmissible ailment. Roosevelt signed this act into law because he understood that even though it may not be a destructive weapon like a bomb, cancer was one of the greatest threats to the lives of the American people.
"Nowhere in the world, except in the Americas is it possible for any nation to devote a great sector of its effort to life conservation rather than life destruction [...]
The total defense which this nation seeks involves a great deal more than building airplanes, ships, guns and bombs.
We cannot be a strong nation unless we are a healthy nation. And so we must recruit not only men and materials but also knowledge and science in the service of national strength. And that is what we are doing here. "
- Franklin Roosevelt
"FDR Addresses NIH." FDR Library. 1940.
National Cancer Act of 1971
On December 23, 1971, Richard Nixon (1969-1974) signed into law the National Cancer Act of 1971 which strengthened the National Cancer Institute and its programs. Nixon was a firm believer that cancer was a perilous threat to the country that needs to be eradicated even declaring war on cancer. With this law, came the creation of the National Cancer Program which included the NCI and other research institutes that focused on the treatment of cancer. It also gave the NCI the funding it needed to further their discoveries.
"President Nixon signing the National Cancer Act 0f 1971." National Cancer Institute. 1971.
"When we consider what cancer does each year in the United States we find that more people each year die of cancer in the United States than all the Americans who lost their lives in World War II"
-Richard Nixon