First Lady Dr. Jill Biden sat down with conservative media outlet Newsmax over the weekend to discuss the administration’s efforts to end cancer, a longtime passion shared by both the first lady and the president.
Dr. Biden spoke with Newsmax host Nancy Brinker, who herself is a breast cancer survivor and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, to discuss the Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which dates back to Joe Biden’s days as vice president under Barack Obama. The president revived the effort in February, outlining a vision to cut cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years.
Newsmax is not the typical host of choice for the Biden administration, with its focus on conservative audiences and controversial coverage of the 2020 presidential elections, though CEO Christopher Ruddy has maintained Newsmax is “an independent news agency” – and said cancer research is one area that all Americans can agree on.
“There are things Americans disagree with, but fighting cancer is one thing that unites Americans; and we’re honored to have Dr. Biden talk of her efforts and President Biden’s to combat this deadly condition,” Ruddy said in a statement.
Both the president and first lady have deeply personal connections to ending cancer. President Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden, who the first lady raised, died from brain cancer in 2015. The first lady’s interest in cancer research dates to the 1990s, when four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer in the same year. Her parents also died of cancer.
Dr. Biden will speak both to the Moonshot initiative and her personal interest in combating cancer, according to Newsmax. The first lady has undertaken a number of efforts to support cancer survivors and further research into the disease that killed over half a million Americans in 2020 alone. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease.
In July, the first lady joined members of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative and other administration officials for a closed-door meeting to better outline priority actions for the effort.
The newy-reignited initiative focuses on:
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Closing the screening gap by creating targeted programs to expand nationwide access for early cancer detection
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Working to understand and mitigate how toxic environmental exposures contribute to cancer diagnoses
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Decreasing the amount of preventable cancers through public health education and outreach campaigns
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Investing and supporting research and development to prevent, detect and treat all forms of cancer
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Easing the burden on cancer patients and their caregivers by expanding access to treatments, screenings, trials and quality care
More recently, Dr. Biden visited UC San Francisco to hear about the progress made in breast cancer research over the past six years. Dr. Alan Ashworth, president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, told the first lady of the importance in genetic testing for breast cancer patients, as there have been many advances in how doctors can now identify specific types of cancer and better treat the patients.
“I love what you are doing here,” Biden told those working at the facility during her early October visit. “You have great hearts.”
The first lady also spent this past weekend focusing on cancer-related issues across a number of states, first joining Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., in Broward County for a discussion “focused on breast cancer survivorship,” per the White House, both as part of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative and a nod to Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
“None of us can beat cancer alone,” Dr. Biden told those assembled on Saturday. “We survive with the love of our families, the dedication of our doctors and nurses, and the support of communities, like this one, that are coming together to fight this disease.”
The event also came ahead of National Mammography Day, celebrated the third Friday of October, and the first lady reminded busy mothers that mammograms “can save your life—and nothing on your to-do list is more important than that!”
The American Cancer Society estimates around 287,850 new cases of breast cancer will be detected in U.S. women throughout 2022, and around 43,250 will die from breast cancer. Over 90% of breast cancer deaths are in women aged 50 years and older.
On Sunday, the first lady joined cancer survivors and their loved ones at the Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game to sing “Fly Eagles Fly,” the latter team’s fight song, during the National Football League’s Crucial Catch game, a partnership with the American Cancer Society that aims to “fight cancer through early detection and risk reduction.”
It was the second time in as many months Dr. Biden traveled to Philadelphia to raise awareness for cancer; in September, the first lady joined the Phillies’ sixth annual “Childhood Cancer Awareness Night” to support young cancer patients and their families.
Dr. Biden on Sunday evening also shared a video of the White House illuminated in pink lights “in honor of the loved ones we’ve lost, those who are still fighting, and those who have survived breast cancer.”
The first lady’s full, 20-minute interview with Newsmax will air on Monday at 9 p.m. Eastern. Dr. Biden also told Brinker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2001 – 2003, about her meeting “with Ukraine’s first lady and shared a horror story about Russians targeting Ukrainians on a bread line,” per Newsmax.
