As a senior who takes daily medication for high blood pressure and a wife to an 80-year-old husband who has a family history of Alzheimer’s, I am passionate about medical research and innovation.
In recent years, breakthrough science has changed the diagnosis for many who previously would have been deemed “untreatable.” Conditions such as HIV-AIDS, hepatitis C, and other rare disease are now largely managed by patients themselves thanks to new cutting-edge medicines.
These medical advances give families like mine hope—hope that one day diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will also be manageable, and hope for independence as we age.
However, the key to finding new cures and treatments is funding for medical research, which requires our leaders in Washington to focus on creating a regulatory environment that fosters private investment in the future of medicine. Simply put, we need policymakers to make sure that our medical research community has the tools at their disposal to innovate, and to always be conscious of the impact any policy will have on our ability to save lives.
Survival and independence after diagnosis for so many patients is now attainable, but only if we continue to prioritize investment in the next-wave of life-saving cures and treatments.
Deborah Cadis