Honoring Pioneers in Breast Cancer Research

In this issue of NIH MedlinePlus magazine, we are especially pleased to tell you about some of the wonderful and groundbreaking work that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Cancer Institute (NCI) are doing in the fight against cancer.

There are thousands of cancer researchers around the world who benefit from NIH funding. That impact is reflected in the fact that this year marks the 70th anniversary of NCI's leadership in our nation's battle against cancer in all its forms. You can read more about this in the special section starting on page 4.

We are also delighted that the annual Friends of the National Library of Medicine (FNLM) Fundraising Dinner, held on May 8 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, was able to honor two of America's preeminent breast cancer research pioneers. Receiving the Distinguished Medical Service Awards this year at the dinner were Bernard Fisher, M.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, and Dennis Slamon, M.D., from the University of California at Los Angeles.

As you will read in this issue's special section on cancer, Drs. Fisher and Slamon have spent decades helping to improve and refine our understanding of breast cancer — how it spreads, what treatments are best, and how to attack its molecular structures.

Cancer has been in the news a great deal in the last few months, and that has helped to heighten the interest of all Americans in this deadly disease. This underscores the need to make sure that our national health agenda includes sufficient funding to support research by cancer scientists around the world through continued NIH funding.

Thank you for your interest in NIH MedlinePlus magazine. We encourage you to join the FNLM and to support its work to promote the National Library of Medicine and NIH.

Sincerely,
Paul G. Rogers
Chairman
Friends of the National Library of Medicine