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Daytona Beach Shores, FL, USA
To authorize a reward for the discovery of a successful cure for cancer, and to create a commission to inquire into and ascertain the success of such a cure.
– Senator Matthew M. Neely’s cancer bill (1927).
Congressional attempts to address cancer at the national level began in the 1920s, but were ill-conceived and naive mainly because of prevailing misconceptions about the nature and causes of cancer and lawmakers’ lack of sophistication. For example, on February 4, 1927, Senator Matthew M. Neely (D-WV) introduced the first cancer bill (S. 5589), offering a $5 million reward for anyone finding the cure for cancer [4] Although Congress did not act upon the bill, mention of a reward triggered a deluge of outlandish letters to Congress by the usual assortment of quacks, charlatans, snake-oil healers, and other unsavory characters claiming a right to part of the reward pie. Recognizing that offering a reward was an “imperfect if not utterly futile” means for tackling cancer, and after seeking medical guidance, Senator Neely introduced S. 3554 a year later (March 7, 1928), authorizing the Academy of Sciences to seek ways for the federal government to lead research into cancer. The new bill fared no better despite the eloquent plea he addressed to his colleagues on May 18, 1928,
When Senator Neely was defeated for re-election, his friend William J. Harris (D-GA) took up the fight by introducing bills S. 466 and S. 4531 on April 23 and May 29, 1929, respectively, and in 1930, spear-headed a committee of five Senators to draft a cancer bill, all unsuccessfully.
During the last Congress we appropriated $10,000,000 to eradicate the corn borer. For the present fiscal year we appropriated for the investigation of tuberculosis in animals more than $5,000,000; for meat inspection, more than $2,000,000; for the improvement of cereals, more than $700,000; for the investigation of insects affecting deciduous fruits, vineyards, and nuts more than $130,000; I favored and supported all of these appropriations…But in view of our unequaled liberality in protecting our domestic animals against every sort of disease and pest, and in view of the vast expenditures we have made in protecting every species of food-yielding plant and tree, and in further view of the fact that the Government has never yet appropriated a dollar for the particular purpose of combating cancer, I beg, in the name of all the vast hosts of cancer victims living and dead, for an appropriation that will make it possible for the work of rescuing suffering and perishing humanity from this frightful scourge immediately to begin [5].
However, in the mid-1930s, cancer acquired a certain notoriety thanks to major newspaper stories raising the public’s dread of a mysterious disease that kills slowly and painfully, letter-writing campaigns organized by prominent activist physicians to persuade Congress to support research on cancer and other diseases, a national campaign by the American Society for the Control of Cancer (precursor to today’s American Cancer Society-ACS), and the popularity of Social Security enacted in 1935, a federal program to help those that can’t help themselves. Hence, several members of Congress took notice and introduced bills to established a national cancer center, including Senator Homer T. Bone (D-WA), who introduced S. 2067 on April 2, 1937, the first of two thoughtful and well-conceived cancer bills; the other (HR 6767) was introduced on April 29, 1937 by Representative Maury Maverick (D-TX). Representatives John F. Hunter (D-OH) and Warren Magnuson (D-WA) introduced similar bills in the same time frame. Senator Bone, who managed to secure co-sponsorship by all of his colleagues, a congressional first, was motivated by his belief that cancer victimized the poor and needy who lacked access to healthcare and hence required federal assistance [6]. In drafting his bill, Representative Maverick received advice from Public Heath Service (PHS) legal experts, guidance from Drs. Dudley Jackson Sr., of San Antonio, Texas, and George W. McCoy, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and strong support from U.S. Surgeon General Thomas J. Parran, Jr., an influential public figure and an expert on venereal diseases. Maverick swayed many congressional colleagues to support the cancer project declaring,
Dr. Jackson conducted research on dogs in hopes of unraveling the nature of human cancer, and once transplanted live cancer cells into himself to disprove the theory that cancer is contagious [8]. Struggling financially, he had applied for research funds to the same PHS that belittled his research but eventually rewarded his tireless persistence with a meager $1,000 award in 1935 [9]. Unwilling to accept defeat, he enlisted the support of his friend Congressman Maverick to sponsor a federal institute for cancer research and subsequently testified enthusiastically at House hearings. He is credited as the major mover of the legislation. Surgeon General Parran embraced and strongly supported the national cancer center project for he favored an activist government role in public health, which is best exemplified by a speech in which he stated,
One out of eight persons over 40 will die, die of cancer. As most of us are over 40, I have figured there will be around 60 of us who thus meet deaths [7].
Opposition to the bills came from many quarters including promoters of folk medicine and healers afraid of losing followers, private physicians fearing a takeover by the government, and even some noted cancer researchers apprehensive about what was called a “General Motors approach to science”. In the end, competing bills were reconciled in the Senate and the House, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the National Cancer Act (Public Law 244) on August 5, 1937 [11] “to provide, aid, and coordinate research relating to cancer; to establish the National Cancer Institute [NCI]; and for other purposes” [12]. An annual budget of $700,000 was appropriated. The first Director of the new institute, who was to report directly to the US Surgeon General, was Swiss-born Carl Voegtlin, Ph.D., head of Pharmacology at the PHS. Upon assuming his new post, Voegtlin merged his group with researchers at the Office of Cancer Investigations of Harvard University to establish the first core of NCI researchers, and issued the first 13 research fellowship grants. Construction of the first independent home for the NCI began in June 1939 and was dedicated with great fanfare by President Roosevelt on October 31, 1940, to house the Institute’s first 100 staff members. That same year, Voegtlin launched the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, serving as its first editor. However, despite numerous legislative, organizational, and research initiatives, the overall impact of the NCI on the understanding and treating of cancer over the ensuing 30 years was minimal.
We have reached a stage when we must accept as a major premise citizens should have an equal opportunity for health as an inherent right with the right of liberty and the pursuit of happiness… whatever path we take, inevitably will conform to the governmental framework [10].
Fast-forward 30 years. At the urging of Senator Ralph W. Yarborough, (D-TX), “the People’s Senator” [13], chairman of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, on April 27, 1970, the Senate approved the creation of the National Panel of Consultants on the Conquest of Cancer. On November 25, 1970, 7 months after receiving its mandate, the Panel submitted to the Senate its report entitled “National Program for the Conquest of Cancer”, and on December 4, 1970, Senator Yarborough introduced S. 4564, “A bill which would establish a National Cancer Authority for the purpose of devising and implementing a national program for the conquest of the world’s most dreaded disease – cancer” [14]. The power behind the cancer project was Mary W. Lasker (1900–1994). Born in Watertown, Wisconsin, Mary studied at the University of Wisconsin and at Ratcliff College, where she graduated with a major in art history. After postgraduate studies at Oxford, she moved to New York City, where she worked for art dealer Paul Reinhart, whom she married in 1926 and divorced in 1934. In 1940, she married Albert D. Lasker, who, as owner of the Lord & Thomas advertising agency, had pioneered branding through the use of logos and slogans that became linked to individual brands. After selling the agency, the Laskers turned their full attention to national health issues through political activism and philanthropy. They established the Lasker Foundation in 1942 to promote healthcare research through yearly awards to honor prominent basic science and clinical researchers, and were staunch supporters of the American Cancer Society. Encouraged by her well-connected husband, Mary became a,
Catalyst for the rapid growth of the biomedical research enterprise in the United States after World War II. Called ‘a matchmaker between science and society’ by Jonas Salk, Lasker was a well-connected fundraiser and astute lobbyist who through charm, energy, and skillful use of the media persuaded donors, congressmen, and presidents to provide greatly increased funds for medical research as the main means of safeguarding the health and welfare of Americans [15].Related posts:
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