LETTER: A great experience with NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s leading public funder of biomedical research.
According to Haley Chatelaine, a postdoctoral fellow studying basic cellular functions at the NIH, “any gap that we experience sets us back in terms of being able to conduct cutting-edge biomedical research that Americans need to stay healthy.”
The imposed blackout on communications since the start of the second Trump administration can only serve to widen that gap.
My husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer following a routine medical test. His oncologist stated he had none of the risk factors for this disease.
He was slated to have several chemotherapy sessions and possibly some radiation prior to a Whipple procedure, which would have removed the gallbladder and parts of other organs. Unfortunately, in less than two weeks time, the cancer was found to have spread to his liver, making him ineligible for the surgery.
My thoughts immediately turned to a place that offers hope in the face of despair.
I contacted NIH to find out if he might qualify for entry into one of their clinical trials. Their knowledgeable personnel guided me through the application process. Thankfully, he did meet the criteria.
We were scheduled to visit their campus in Bethesda, Md. For the first time in many months, I felt a real sense of hopefulness. Sadly, the weekend before we were to begin the trial, my husband suffered a stroke. This disqualified him from participation. About five weeks later, he was gone.
I cannot speak highly enough of the experience we had with NIH. Their compassion and competence were beyond reproach.
To take this source of hope away from families is unconscionable.
Are we, as a nation, willing to turn a blind eye to what is happening all around us? Are we foolish enough, or jaded enough, to think if we stay in our own lane and mind our own business, we won’t suffer any ill effects from these occurrences?
To paraphrase Pastor Martin Niemoller: “I did not speak out – then they came for me – and there was no one left.”
Rosemary Smith
Lemont Furnace