[Ip-health] Lance Armstrong Op-Ed in todays WSJ

[Aaron Shaw]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Armstrong has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (see below) which, among
other things, encourages law-makers to "streamline" the red-tape that
currently prevents medical firms from innovating...

sounds eerily like an industry line to me...
I wrote a short response on my blog
(here<http://fringethoughts.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/lance-armsrong-op-ed/>=
)
that I'll send to the editors. Anybody who cares to join in and write a
(better informed) response should feel free!

-Aaron


How to Win the War Against
Cancer<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121063754261486825.html?mod=3Dopinio=
n_main_commentaries>
By
*LANCE ARMSTRONG*
May 13, 2008; Page A17

"What a difference a day makes." It's a phrase we often hear, and like many
clich=E9s, it has some elements of truth. A single day can turn the tide an=
d
lead to victory.

And today, the fifth annual LIVESTRONG Day, the Lance Armstrong Foundation
is asking every American to join our united front against cancer and help
make beating this disease a national priority.

Cancer affects every person in this country. Twelve million Americans have
the disease; this year alone nearly 600,000 lives will be lost to it, while
1.4 million of us will get the dreaded diagnosis from our doctors. In some
communities, death rates are substantially higher than in others.

"Of all the forms of inequality," Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
"injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." Cancer deaths
are shamefully high among minorities and the poor because many lack access
to life-saving prevention and treatment measures.

A leading cancer specialist, Dr. Harold Freeman, says there's a disconnect
between what we know and what we do. On many levels, we know how to defeat
cancer; we just don't do it. Funding for cancer research. Investment in
prevention programs. Access to screening. Early detection and effective
treatment for everyone. Support for people living with cancer. Personal
commitment to healthier living. These are the priorities we must pursue.

Through LIVESTRONG Day, the Lance Armstrong Foundation aims to raise
awareness for the fight against cancer. With more than 600 events taking
place across the country =96 everything from fund raisers to educational
efforts to Wear Yellow Days =96 May 13 will be a day of unity, inspiration =
and
accomplishment.

Clearly, it's going to take more than a single day to beat this opponent.
The war against cancer must be an ongoing national effort =96 one that
mobilizes our country's considerable resources. Yet funding for the Nationa=
l
Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health has been flat in
recent years. This is unacceptable, considering that cancer is the number
one killer of Americans under 85.

But increased funding is only part of the solution. Government must
streamline the laborious process of getting breakthroughs from lab to
clinic. We can cut out red tape of questionable necessity that discourages
innovation in the private sector.

Meanwhile, the private sector must work to ensure that Americans fighting
cancer have access to new treatments and therapies. Our regulatory system
should not hinder the fight against cancer, and our profit-based health-car=
e
providers should do more to address the fact that too few people can afford
the treatments they deserve.

This nation needs a renewed, comprehensive approach to the war on cancer. I
was encouraged last week, when I testified before the Senate Health
Education Labor and Pensions Committee at Sen. Ted Kennedy's invitation,
that new legislation may soon achieve this goal.

Last November, in my home state, Texans voted in overwhelming numbers to
make a $3 billion investment in the fight, establishing a state-funded
cancer research and prevention institute.

In our cities and states, the tide is turning. It is my hope that LIVESTRON=
G
Day 2008 will inspire even more policy efforts and, in this historic
presidential election year, once again make cancer a national priority.

What can you do? Ask your local, state and national lawmakers what steps
they'll take against tobacco, the number one cause of cancer, and how
they'll ensure that all of us =96 not just star athletes and politicians =
=96
have access to prevention efforts, early screening and effective treatment.
Educate yourself and others. Support cancer programs in your community. Liv=
e
a healthy life. And vote.

*Mr. Armstrong, a seven-time winner of the Tour de France, is founder and
chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and a cancer survivor. Visit
www.livestrong.org.*