A decade ago, then-Vice President Joe Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot initiative, an ambitious attempt to cut cancer deaths in half over a 25-year period. By some estimates, more than four million lives could be saved.
Relaunched in 2022, the program grew to embrace hundreds of government actions and institutional allies, including a wide array of academic institutions, nonprofits and patient groups. All had meaningful stakes in saving and improving the lives of millions.
For President Biden, who oversaw formation of a Cabinet-level cancer task force from his Oval Office perch, the cause was personal. Having lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015, he hoped to spare other families what his own had suffered through.
Whatever one thought of his politics (or fitness for office), one had to admire Biden’s commitment to fight a disease that has or will touch most of us, sooner or later.
Fast forward three years, and the Cancer Moonshot looks more like a long shot — if not a grim fatality in the war on medical science being waged by the current administration. With research grants slashed, ongoing trials terminated and certified experts replaced by ignorant ideologues, the path forward does not look hopeful.
But that doesn’t mean the fight to treat (and hopefully cure) more cancer patients has been abandoned. As we often see these days, the will to set aside partisan politics and work for the common good remains alive and well at the grassroots level.
And that’s where communities like ours step in — and step up. When federal agencies and other authorities fail to do their job, others must. It’s really that simple. And that local.
This October, Marblehead is observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month, drawing on contributions from many sources. One campaign, designated Marblehead Turns Pink for Ellie, supports the Ellie Fund, a Needham-based nonprofit providing a menu of free services — child care reimbursements, home food delivery and housekeeping, rides to medical appointments — to breast cancer patients and their families.
These services help manage the stress faced by anyone, female or male, undergoing treatment for and recovery from the disease. Resources are provided regardless of financial situation or insurance coverage. They make a huge difference in patients’ quality of life during very challenging times, as those affected will attest.
More than 100 town businesses are supporting the Pink awareness campaign. Last weekend (Oct. 3-4) brought a movie screening at the Warwick, special dinner at The Landing, and exhibits at Marblehead’s Farmers’ Market and Fall Festival. Walk around town, and you’ll see storefront posters and other signs of campaign solidarity.
In addition, last Saturday at the North Shore Music Theatre, the show “Myth Magic & Mystery” was staged to benefit Voices of Hope, a Boston-based nonprofit whose primary mission is funding cancer research and treatment. Among the show’s 120-person cast and crew were many Marblehead residents.
Voices of Hope’s major benefactors include town resident Belinda Termeer. To date, the nonprofit has raised over $1 million for the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at MGH Cancer Center, established in memory of her late husband Henri Termeer, the former Genzyme CEO, whom we lost in 2017.
Meanwhile, nearly two dozen Headers participated in this year’s Jimmy Fund Walk along the Boston Marathon route last Sunday. The money raised — this year’s goal was nearly $10 million — supports patient care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s premier treatment centers.
These grassroots, community-based initiatives rely on hard work and visionary optimism, the kind demonstrated by individuals like Marblehead’s Susan Hassett and her team of local volunteers who powered the Marblehead Turns Pink for Ellie effort. A breast cancer survivor, Hassett and crew began their campaign last summer, and their good work is worthy of widespread support.
For more information on participating businesses and how to donate to the Ellie Fund, go to elliefund.org/marblehead-2025.
Kate Ward, the Ellie Fund’s director of development, said it best when asked about the Marblehead Turns Pink campaign.
“Marblehead has taken it to a new level this year,” she told the Current, adding that our town “serves as a shining example for other communities to take inspiration from.”
We trust they will. And to everyone who’s already volunteered, donated funds, bought tickets to events, walked in memory of loved ones, or otherwise raised a helping hand, we appreciate you.
One might even say we’re tickled pink to know you.
The Current Editorial Board
The members of the Current’seditorial board are Bob Peck, chairman of the Current; Virginia Buckingham, president of the Current's board of directors; board member Brian Birke, Current editorial staff member Kris Olson, and Joseph P. Kahn, a retired Boston Globe journalist.
