Sequestration cuts will mean a direct blow to cancer research right here in Buffalo. Under the sequester, Roswell Park Cancer Institute stands to lose $7 to $8 million in federal funding this year alone for both research and treatment for some patients.
Roswell's deputy director Dr. Candace Johnson tells WBFO News some Oncology centers won't be able to treat Medicare patients.
"The cuts to Oncology are real," said Dr. Johnson. "This two-percent Medicare cut that has been proposed, and this will realize a couple million dollars because of those cuts. Then there are the cuts to our research programs."
Dr. Johnson said National Cancer Center Institute grants are also in jeopardy for Roswell.
"We have a $60-million we receive from the federal government from the NIH in grants, so when you look at these cuts, that's a lot of money," noted Dr. Johnson. "These are the funded projects, the one that have the most promise. These are not just miscellaneous science that is going on in someone's lab. It is something that concerns us a lot."
Rallies will be held in Washington and Buffalo Monday to urge policymakers to continue to provide needed funding for cancer research and a treatment of patients.