Standing with President Biden and Latino Cancer Patients
- 19 May, 2025
- villafanevi
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A personal message from our Founder
Dear TLCI Community,
A Personal Connection to the Cancer Moonshot
I write today saddened to hear that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This news resonates deeply with me, both as someone who has spent decades fighting cancer and as a person who was honored to be appointed by President Biden to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) at the NCI as a patient advocate.
In 2022, I stood in the White House as President Biden relaunched the Cancer Moonshot initiative with an ambitious goal: reducing cancer mortality by 50% over the next 25 years. The energy and hope in that room were palpable. Here was a leader who understood the urgency of cancer research not just as a policy priority, but as a deeply personal mission. He’d lost a son to brain cancer!
A year later, when President Biden appointed me to the National Cancer Advisory Board, I felt the weight of responsibility to ensure that Latino voices were represented in our national fight against cancer. That appointment wasn’t just an honor for me—it was recognition that the fight against cancer must include all communities.
Our 2025 Focus on Latino Men’s Health
It feels particularly poignant that TLCI’s 2025 virtual Forum series will focus on prostate cancer and other cancers affecting Latino men. This was planned months ago, yet now takes on added significance. Like many health disparities, prostate cancer disproportionately impacts communities of color, often diagnosed later with more advanced disease.
As a community, we understand what the Biden family is experiencing. Many of us have sat with loved ones during cancer diagnoses, treatments, and in too many cases, loss. President Biden himself has experienced the pain of losing a beloved son to cancer, which fueled his passion for the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
A Critical Moment for Cancer Research
I must express my deep concern about the current administration’s approach to cancer research funding. Many vital cancer research projects at the NCI have seen significant cuts, threatening to set back years of progress in early intervention, diagnostic testing, and advanced treatments. These steps jeopardize every advancement we’ve made in equity care, academic-community research collaboration, and efforts to increase Latino representation in clinical trials.
At TLCI, we’re witnessing firsthand how these funding decisions affect real people in our communities. Cancer doesn’t care about politics—and neither should our commitment to fighting it.
Moving Forward with Determination
Despite these challenges, TLCI remains more committed than ever to our mission. Our upcoming forum series will bring together researchers, clinicians, patients, community agencies and advocates to address the specific cancer burdens facing Latino men, impacting their health and economic vitality.
SAVE THE DATES
TLCI 2025 Virtual Forum Series: Latino Men’s Cancer Health
| Session 1: Sept 12, 2025, 9:00AM -12:00PM PT | Session 2: Oct 3rd, 2025, 9:00AM -12:00PM PT | Session 3: October 24th, 2025, 9:00AM -12:00PM PT |
| Prostate and Liver Cancer in Latino Men | Machismo – A health barrier or a Coping Mechanism | Health is Wealth – Latinos as an economic engine of the U.S. economy |
Registration opens June 2nd, 2025. Want to stay informed about the Forum and other TLCI events? Sign up for our newsletter to get updates straight to your inbox.
Join us as we address these critical health issues affecting our community and learn from leading experts in the field. All sessions will be presented in both English and Spanish.
We are honored to have remarkable leaders in our network, including Dr. Laura Fejerman (UC Davis), Dr. Manali Patel (Stanford), Dr. Enrique Velazquez Villarreal (City of Hope), Dr. Mariana Stern (Keck School of Medicine at USC), Dr. Noah Merin (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), Dr. David Garcia (University of Arizona), and Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable. Their groundbreaking work continues to advance our understanding of cancer in Latino communities, representing the kind of innovative, community-centered approaches that can help us overcome disparities in cancer outcomes.
The Institute’s thoughts and prayers are with President Biden and his family during this difficult time. I’m grateful for his years of advocacy and support for cancer research. His personal courage in facing this diagnosis reflects the same determination he brought to the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
As we move forward, let us recommit ourselves to ensuring that all communities—regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, or economic status—have access to the latest cancer prevention, detection, and treatment options. Together, we can continue the important work of the Cancer Moonshot and honor its vision of reducing the cancer burden for all Americans.
Ysabel Duron
Founder, Executive Director
The Latino Cancer Institute
