Hope and Fail

No ‘comprehensive’ study on federal cancer efforts

As part of the Obama-Biden plan to combat cancer, the campaign promised this:

Too often, efforts across these agencies are poorly coordinated, leading to gaps in our national strategy to combat cancer. As president, Barack Obama will immediately direct his Secretary of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with agency officials, academic researchers, cancer survivors and advocates for people with cancer, and state public health officials, to comprehensively examine the various cancer-related efforts of federal agencies, and provide recommendations to eliminate barriers to effective coordination across federal agencies and between the federal government and other stakeholders.

Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as HHS secretary on April 28, 2009 — a little more than seven months ago — but the president has yet to “immediately direct” her to begin such an examination.

PolitiFact reports:

We looked for a comprehensive study of federal agencies and their efforts at fighting cancer, but couldn’t find anything on it.

… We consulted with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the nonprofit American Cancer Society, but no one could point us to evidence that this promise is being fulfilled.

There was no immediate directive, and there still isn’t one.