Since You Asked: More About the Department of Defense - Breast Cancer Research Connection

Recently, I shared with you the great news that the Senate and the House approved $138 million in fiscal year 2008 funding for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP) - $10.5 million more than last year. Some of you asked some very good questions about the federal funding process. Here are some answers.

One person asked, "Not that it's not a worthy cause, but I don't understand why DOD would be funding breast cancer research."

I'm asked this question all the time. In 1992, when we were successful in significantly increasing federal funding for breast cancer research and some of the funds were in the defense budget, I was thrilled at our success but also a bit concerned. What did DOD have to do with breast cancer? It turns out that DOD has a robust biomedical research arm, incredible researchers working on things like wound healing, infectious diseases and the like. And they also work on health issues of importance to the men and women in the military and their dependents. Most importantly for our program, they have a great, efficient infrastructure and oversight in their research work. So the defense department has been a wonderful partner and administrator of these funds. The amount of money that is necessary for administration is 8%, which is unheard of in research arenas. And the dedication of the scientists who help manage these funds is astonishing. What does DOD get out of this? They have established new collaborations with scientists, have gained the respect of the outside scientific community and the advocacy movement and they have replicated the models instituted by our program in other DOD work. And this work is very much appreciated by members of the military, especially women in uniform.

It's not just breast cancer. Because of our success, the DOD now funds several Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -- in prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, minority and underserved populations, and several other health areas.

At the time the program was started, the federal government was only spending $100 million a year on breast cancer research. That was not nearly enough to get to the bottom of what causes breast cancer. The National Breast Cancer Coalition knew that something needed to be done, and began a grassroots effort called the "$300 Million More," campaign in which NBCC's nation-wide grassroots network deluged Congress with signatures, demanding an increase in federal funding for breast cancer research. Due to NBCC's efforts and the leadership of Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY), in 1992 Congress appropriated $210 million in the DOD research and development budget for a breast cancer research program administered by the Department of the Army. In response to NBCC's advocacy, Congress has continued to fund this Program each year bringing its total to more than $2.1 billion for peer-reviewed breast cancer research, garnering accolades from the Institute of Medicine and creating groundbreaking advances in early detection, genetic markers, lifesaving targeted therapies and other areas of breast cancer research. And it has launched new models of research that have now been replicated elsewhere in both the military and domestic research programs and by other countries.