Aileen Seo / 10. Scripps Ranch High
Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center recently announced its intention to revive the "Moon Shots Program" started by the Kennedy administration in the 1960s. This time however the target is not the moon. Instead the nation's leading treatment and research center is aiming for a cure to cancer.
Dr. Ronald DePinho the president of the hospital described the center's vision for the new program.
"One is to apply the existing knowledge to make a near-term impact in this decade" he said. "The second is to also say we do not know everything we need to know to ultimately cure the disease."
Doctors at MD Anderson have come to the conclusion that dying from a cancer can become as rare as dying from pneumonia. Physicians have gained ground in researching cures for five types of cancer: lung cancer melanoma breast and ovarian cancer prostate cancer and blood cancers.
The official launching of the project is due for February 2013. According to DePinho the $3 billion investment is to be funded by institutional earnings philanthropy and research grants.