Pres. Biden announcement of $23M in cancer research to Tulane met with praise, protest
19th August 2024 · 0 Comments
By Safura Syed
Contributing Writer
(Veritenews.org) — Environmental activists from Louisiana’s so-called Cancer Alley had mixed reactions to President Joe Biden’s announcement on Tuesday (Aug. 14) that researchers at Tulane University will receive up to $23 million to create an innovative cancer imaging system.
The funding is part of the White House’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which has invested over $400 million in cancer detection, treatment and prevention through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. The initiative aims to cut cancer deaths in half by 2047. This year, the National Cancer Institute estimates that over 600,000 people will die of cancer and over two million new cases will be diagnosed.
The $23 million given to Tulane is part of a $150 million funding project that will bolster research in cancer imaging across the country. Tulane’s imaging project, called MAGIC-SCAN, would allow doctors to visualize tumors during surgery, ensuring that cancerous cells are not left in the patient while reducing the need for follow-up surgeries.
During his speech, Biden said his administration is “focused on helping fence-line communities facing disproportionate cancer rates.” Louisiana has among the highest rates of cancer diagnoses in the country, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. Cases are concentrated in Cancer Alley, the stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge with an elevated exposure to air pollution from nearby industries, which disproportionately affects predominantly Black areas.
“Everyday we live with the fear of being diagnosed with cancer,” said Tish Taylor, a member of the environmental justice group Concerned Citizens of St. John Parish. “That’s what hovers over people who live in Cancer Alley, the fear that it’s you next, while you’re watching your loved ones … fight for their lives, or that you’ve buried already.”
Taylor said she was happy with everything that Biden has done to acknowledge Cancer Alley’s plight both in his speech on Tuesday and in a 2023 private meeting with Concerned Citizens of St. John at the White House. Under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency tightened regulations for factory pollutants and launched a campaign for environmental justice meant to tackle systemic inequalities.
Others, like Joy Banner, the co-founder and co-director of The Descendants Project, a nonprofit committed to cultural protection of Black descendants in Louisiana, said she thinks the Biden administration is not being ambitious enough. Industrial plants are allowed to continue polluting communities in St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes. In June, the EPA dropped an investigation into whether the Louisiana government discriminated against Black residents by allowing polluters to build in predominately Black areas, which came as a blow to activists.
“I still think that we need to focus on ending the production of these chemicals that are creating a higher risk for cancer,” Banner said. “It needs to be a reduction in consumption, reduction in production, and it means that we have to look at shifting our models of economic development.”
Protesters call out ‘hypocrisy’
Shreyas Vasudevan, an organizer for pro-Palestine activism group New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, or NOSHIP, agrees with Banner. NOSHIP, the New Orleans branch of Jewish Voice for Peace and other organizations protested Biden’s appearance just outside the security barriers set up for the event. Vasudevan said the funding for cancer research amounted to “hypocrisy,” given what he sees as the administration’s inaction to prevent cancer in Louisiana through firmer industry regulation.
“There’s been very little improvement with the facilities in Cancer Alley, whether it’s the Nucor deal or whether it’s the various refineries that exist there, the various fertilizer companies that exist there,” he said.
Activists protesting Biden’s appearance have also been demonstrating in New Orleans for months against Israel’s war in Gaza, including a brief encampment on Tulane’s campus. On Tuesday, they tried to connect the public health crisis in Louisiana with the war in Gaza, where a majority of hospitals are now nonfunctional due to Israel’s bombardment and invasion of the Palestinian territory, according to a Reuters report.
Protesters also pointed to disparities between cancer research and military funding. The U.S. has provided Israel with $3.3 billion annually in military funding since 2009. Military funding has increased after the October 7 attacks, and the Biden administration has given at least $12.5 billion worth of military aid to Israel so far. So far, the Cancer Moonshot project is a $400 million investment in research.
Proactive vs. reactive
Given the money and resources at the government’s disposal, Banner believes the Biden administration can do more.
“We’re dealing with entities at the State Department and the administration who have the ability and have the resources to really shoot for the moon,” Banner said. Beyond cancer treatment, she said the government should put more of its focus into eliminating cancer risks. “Let’s really get to the details, let’s tackle the underlying issues.”
And Taylor pointed out that new technologies may not help the problem of health care inaccessibility for Black and rural populations.
“I believe that it’s wonderful to have money to treat cancer, but it’s so much more important that we be proactive, not reactive,” Taylor said. “We need testing. We need adequate health care available. We shouldn’t have to drive 30 miles to the nearest hospital for treatment.”
This article originally published in the August 19, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
