Historic Federal Cancer Research Funding Increases End an Unprecedented Year of Uncertainty

I've been advocating for patients with pancreatic cancer for 27 years. Never have I seen a year with so much uncertainty and turmoil in federal cancer research funding. But despite the instability and obstacles we faced, I'm incredibly proud of how our community and the broader cancer community came together, raised our voices and secured historic funding for cancer research - including pancreatic.

In 2025, we saw staggering proposed funding cuts to both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), freezes and caps on facilities and administrative costs and a series of executive actions that destabilized our country's research ecosystem. Additionally, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program (PCARP) within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense - currently the only federal program dedicated to pancreatic cancer research - was left with zero funding when Congress passed a long-term continuing resolution. These challenges were further compounded by a government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

All of this threatened hard-won research progress that came as a result of decades of increases in federal research funding that PanCAN advocates fought for years to preserve and increase, putting critical programs at risk, causing uncertainty for future cancer scientists, and worst of all, jeopardizing the lives of patients both today and in the future.

Over the last 12 months, PanCAN stood in strong opposition to the administration's threats to severely reduce federal funding for cancer research. PanCAN advocates from across the country refused to stay silent, emailing, calling, sharing their stories with their members of Congress and showing up again and again to make it clear that patients and families cannot afford to lose momentum.

I was proud to join researchers from many of our country's top cancer institutions and fellow CEOs of some of the leading cancer organizations on Capitol Hill on several occasions where we met with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

At PanCAN, we announced new Research Recovery Grants providing urgent bridge funding to pancreatic cancer research projects that were at risk due to ongoing federal funding instability. 

And we joined with the broader cancer and biomedical community, including One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC), Research America and others, signing on to public letters to Congress, participating in social media days of action, highlighting the value of federally funded pancreatic cancer research - demanding that they work together to protect and increase federal funding.

And Congress listened.

Today, they approved a federal budget that protects and strengthens the future of pancreatic cancer research. Lawmakers rejected proposed cuts and passed full-year spending bills that included historic increases for cancer research, including $47.2 billion for the NIH, $7.352 billion for the NCI. Additionally, PCARP - previously eliminated - was reinstated with $20 million in funding. This is the first increase for the pancreatic cancer research program since FY21 and the most funding the program has ever received. In addition, Congress included language in their final bills to provide guardrails against funding policy restrictions.

Also included was the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Act. This legislation allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to create a pathway for coverage for multi-cancer tests upon FDA-approval - early detection tests designed to screen for multiple cancer types including pancreatic cancer. 

This moment did not come easily. It came because our community - pancreatic cancer survivors, caregivers, their friends and families, the scientific research community, healthcare providers and the broader cancer community - refused to stay silent or give up. This year is a powerful reminder of what happens when people come together and fight for what matters.

We are especially grateful to the leadership of the Appropriations Committee and the Labor-HHS and Defense subcommittees including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), and Rep. Aderholt (R-AL) for working in a bipartisan manner.

And to our champions for spearheading the pancreatic cancer Dear Colleague letter - Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and J. Joyce (R-PA). We are especially grateful to those members who voiced strong support during the appropriations process, underscoring the power of Congress to protect critical research priorities.

I have deep gratitude and pride, but also a renewed resolve to keep pushing forward as we navigate what may lie ahead. But I know that in order to create a world in which surviving pancreatic cancer becomes the norm and not the exception, we must continue our work with urgency and purpose. Thank you for standing with us, for believing in this fight, and for helping turn determination into real and lasting impact.