Reigniting the Cancer Moonshot to beat cancer

It has been a little more than one year since the reignition of the Cancer Moonshot, President Biden’s call-to-action to reduce the death rate from cancer by 50% over the next 25 years and to improve the experience of people living with and surviving cancer

In that time, Cancer Moonshot has been a uniting force behind research, clinical care, patient stories and caregivers. VA has taken on the challenge as a member of the President’s Cancer Cabinet, leading the charge with best-in-class cancer care for our Veterans across the country.

Every year, VA cares for approximately 450,000 Veterans with cancer across more than 1,300 health care facilities while making an additional 43,000 cancer diagnoses. Veterans treated for cancer at VA often have better outcomes than they would elsewhere. VA places the Veteran at the center, striving to meet Veterans where they are and fighting to ensure the best possible outcomes

VA approaches treating cancer as a continuum that includes prevention, screening and the best available treatments which ultimately prioritizes the health of every Veteran who chooses VA for their health care.

Building interagency collaborations

In response to the Cancer Moonshot initiative, VA has increased screening and virtual treatment options, leveraged technology and new therapies, and built unique partnerships that offer Veterans access to specialized clinical trials. VA has also grown its footprint within the federal health care space by building and proposing interagency collaborations with the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health’s National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

VA is also innovating, leading the way in delivering groundbreaking treatment options and in improving the accessibility of treatment and provider support. The National Precision Oncology program (NPOP), created in response to the first Cancer Moonshot, helps clinicians more accurately predict which cancer treatment strategies will work best for each Veteran. The program makes molecular testing (somatic and germline) available to VA cancer patients for whom testing may determine a prognosis or a course of treatment.

Since the program launched in 2016, we have guided cancer care through advanced molecular testing for more than 34,000 Veterans, performed more than 50,000 molecular tests and conducted roughly 1,500 provider-to-provider interfacility consults. VA is a national leader in ensuring that services will be available to all Veterans around the country.

NPOP only continues to grow. In 2022, the program expanded to all 131 cancer treatment facilities across the country and expanded types of testing to include all lung cancers, metastatic prostate cancer, all pancreatic cancers, advanced cholangiocarcinoma, advanced bladder cancer, and other advanced solid tumors and rare cancers.

TeleOncology reaches Veterans where they are located

In addition, VA connects Veterans to the soonest and best care by improving access to a collaborative network of providers and by reaching Veterans in the comfort of their own home. According to an American Society of Clinical Oncology workforce report, 66 percent of rural counties have no oncologist. As a result, Veterans in these counties may face serious issues accessing care. 

VA has responded by prioritizing access to top-rated physicians and cancer care specialists nationwide through an integrated clinical trials network and the National TeleOncology service (NTO). NTO allows cancer care providers to reach Veterans regardless of where they are located. This service delivers screenings, diagnostics and treatment for medical oncology, including rehabilitation and palliative care. 

A commitment, above all, to our Veterans

Cancer Moonshot is also aligned with VA’s priority to serve our toxic-exposed Veterans, aiding in the implementation of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or the PACT Act. This law expands health care and benefits to Veterans who may have been exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other potentially toxic environmental hazards.

The PACT Act is the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxin-exposed Veterans in more than 30 years. Under this law, VA will ensure Veterans will be screened for toxic exposures and that Veterans will receive the best clinical care possible.

These programs represent VA’s commitment to the Cancer Moonshot and, above all, to our Veterans. The Cancer Moonshot initiative is groundbreaking. Its call to action is critical and its impact is only growing. Here at VA, we will continue to provide best-in-class care, build innovative strategies, change lives, and improve outcomes for Veterans and their families.