McCain ‘Heartbroken’ Over Brain Cancer Research Cuts

There is no known cure for glioblastoma, though research has found ways to shrink the tumors and extend patients’ lifespans. McCain died just over a year after his diagnosis in 2017.

Last month, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN) noted that the continuing resolution bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump to avoid a shutdown involved a 57% cut to the CDMRP, totaling $859 million in spending cuts — with $185 million less going to cancer programs.

Glioblastoma, which received $10 million in the 2024 fiscal year, is one of four types of cancer that isn’t receiving any research funding under the new spending bill. Neither will kidney cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of the disease.

ACSCAM President Lisa Lacasse thanked Meghan McCain for “amplifying the critical importance of cancer research” and urged Americans to sign a petition calling on Congress to stop cuts to research.

Cancer researchers have also raised alarm over the Department of Health and Human Services, run by conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announcing last week that it’s cutting more than 10,000 jobs at the NIH and other government health agencies.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.