Opinion: NIH cuts will set back research into the rare disease that has terrorized my family
Jim Higgins has an inherited cancer syndrome that has killed his father, sister, and two daughters. He fears NIH cuts will hurt important research progress made in recent years.
I was born with an inherited cancer syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS). A mutation on my Tp53 cancer suppressor gene makes me susceptible to a host of cancers. Two of my daughters died of LFS-related cancers, as did my father and sister. People with LFS have an approximately 50% chance of developing some type of cancer by age 40, and up to a 90% chance by age 60. There is no cure. Our best hope right now is to try to catch any malignancies in the early stages.
Why am I telling you this? One of the most important institutions under the DOGE chainsaw is the National Institutes of Health, the global jewel of science and health care that exports cures and discoveries to benefit people around the world. Cuts to this revered institution have cost people their livelihoods — but it will also literally cost people their lives. People like my family members and me.
