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In reply to the discussion: Biden and Pope Francis team up against cancer [View all]karynnj
(59,504 posts)Obama has given Biden the space to work on the issue of trying to do something to facilitate research on cancer. In a way, government has tried this repeatedly. We are of the same generation and both remember wars on cancer etc. All well meaning, but in many cases it is not clear what was gained -- though on many cancers we do have far more tools than when we were young.
This conference will likely do more because of chance encounters (or planned ones) between various researchers from many countries. It could be that while sitting at a dinner, a scientist might describe something he is doing that relates to what someone else has tried. It is easy to imagine the vague outline of conversations that lead to collaborations or maybe giving insight into what worked or what failed in someone else's work.
Here, Pope Francis sponsoring this probably gets more scientists, businessmen etc to attend. That might describe part of what Biden is doing as well -- and what many universities, research hospitals and philanthropists have tried in different ways to accomplish.
Obviously, none of this helps if the person has no or inadequate healthcare. That was not the issue of the conference. Pope Francis last September did speak to the issue - calling on Catholic hospitals to help. http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150924/NEWS/150929924
For Biden to bring an American issue up at the Vatican would be strange -- and that could be political.