Get Purchase Authority Public Law 92-218 As Amended

The war on cancer began with the National Cancer Act of 1971, a United States federal law. The act was intended "to amend the Public Health Service Act so as to strengthen the National Cancer Institute in order to more effectively carry out the national effort against cancer".

The act granted broad authority to the director of NCI to plan and develop a National Cancer Program that included NCI, other research institutes, and other federal and nonfederal programs.

When President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act on Dec. 23, 1971, he declared war on cancer.

In his famous State of the Union address in January 1971, Nixon made a special request for an extra $100 million (equivalent approximately to $690,000,000 in 2021) to launch an intensive campaign to find a cure for cancer, and also for whatever additional funds later, if necessary, that can effectively be used.

The Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act (CCSA) is a landmark piece of legislation that aims to provide a lifeline to survivors and their families by addressing the entire survivorship continuum of care for this deadly disease. For every survivor, cancer will be a very different and personal experience.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the “War on Cancer” declared by Richard Nixon, a former President of the United States of America. By signing into law the National Cancer Act on December 23, 1971, Nixon hoped this action to be the landmark legislation taken by his administration.

Our oldest description of cancer (although the word cancer was not used) was discovered in Egypt and dates back to about 3000 BC. It's called the Edwin Smith Papyrus and is a copy of part of an ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery.

On December 23, 1971, President Nixon followed through on his promise as he signed the National Cancer Act into law, declaring, "I hope in the years ahead we will look back on this action today as the most significant action taken during my Administration."