First Lady Pool Reports of March 10, 2023

FLOTUS Press Pool Report #1 - New Orleans, LA

First Lady Jill Biden has arrived at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans, which she is touring this afternoon with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., and his wife, Dr. Laura Cassidy, to highlight the importance of investing in cancer research and to mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month.

Investing in cancer research is part of the Biden Administration's Cancer Moonshot, a bipartisan policy initiative aimed at cutting cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25%.

Dr. Biden arrived at the center at 2:30 p.m., CST accompanied by the Cassidys, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. She was greeted by Dr. Joseph Ramos, CEO of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. The trip marks Dr. Biden's first trip to Louisiana as First Lady.

After her arrival, Biden immediately headed into a tour of the first-floor laboratory at the center, where she was expected to meet with three researchers from Tulane University, which is one of four partners in the LCRC: Dr. Erik Flemington, Professor of Cancer Research, Melody Baddoo, Senior Research Scientist, and Trang Nguyen.

Following the laboratory tour, Dr. Biden and the Cassidys were expected to tour a nursing station and patient-care area on the eighth floor of the center. There she was expected to meet with : Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Director of Louisiana State University (LSU) Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center and Principal Investigator of the Gulf South NCORP; Eileen Mederos, Clinical Trials Network Manager, LSU Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center; Dr. Pamela Tuli, Oncologist and Head of the Oncology Clinical Trial Program at Memorial Hospital (joining virtually from Gulfport, Mississippi) and Jennifer Gex, Clinical Research Coordinator, Memorial Hospital (joining virtually from Gulfport, Mississippi)

In the year since the Bidens reignited, the Cancer Moonshot, which was initially conceived during the Obama administration, the initiative has announced more than 25 new programs, policies, and resources to address five areas: closing the screening gap; understanding and addressing environmental exposure; decreasing the impact of preventable cancers; bringing cutting-edge research to patients and communities; and, supporting patients and caregivers.

Dr. Biden has traveled the country and the world to hear from cancer patients and their loved ones, as well as the researchers, physicians, nurses, and patient navigators who support them – focusing on the importance of early detection and improving the experience of patients, families, and caregivers.

The President's FY 2024 Budget, announced Thursday, makes strategic investments in the Cancer Moonshot as part of the President's Unity Agenda to deliver new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer and to ensure that the tools we have and those we develop along the way reach all Americans.

The Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium is a New Orleans-based collaboration of four research and medical institutions: LSU Health Sciences Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Ochsner Health and Xavier University. Its mission is to reduce cancer in Louisiana and across the Gulf South by focusing on high impact research, patient care, education and outreach, and community engagement.

BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

On Friday, March 10th, as part of the Biden Administration's Cancer Moonshot, First Lady Jill Biden will visit the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, with Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. and Dr. Laura Cassidy to highlight the importance of investing in cancer research and to mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. This marks Dr. Biden's first visit to the state of Louisiana as First Lady.

Yesterday, in the President's announcement of his Fiscal Year 2024 Budget, he called to increase federal investments in cancer research. The President's FY 2024 Budget makes strategic investments in the Cancer Moonshot as part of the President's Unity Agenda to deliver new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer and to ensure that the tools we have and those we develop along the way reach all Americans.

In February 2022, President Biden and Dr. Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot and set a new national goal: if we work together, we can cut the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. As the President has said, "Cancer does not discriminate red and blue; it doesn't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat. Beating cancer is something we can do together."

During the visit to Louisiana Cancer Research Center, the First Lady and Senator Cassidy will tour a cancer research laboratory and learn about the center's efforts to expand access to clinical trials for more cancer patients across Louisiana and the Gulf South. During the tour, the group will meet with:

Tour Stop 1:

• Dr. Erik Flemington, Professor of Cancer Research, Tulane University
• Melody Baddoo, Senior Research Scientist, Tulane University
• Trang Nguyen, Graduate Student, Tulane University

Tour Stop 2:

• Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Director of Louisiana State University (LSU) Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center and Principal Investigator of the Gulf South NCORP
• Eileen Mederos, Clinical Trials Network Manager, LSU Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center
• Dr. Pamela Tuli, Oncologist and Head of the Oncology Clinical Trial Program at Memorial Hospital (joining virtually from Gulfport, Mississippi)
• Jennifer Gex, Clinical Research Coordinator, Memorial Hospital (joining virtually from Gulfport, Mississippi)

Following the tour, the group will deliver remarks in a speaking program:

• Congressman Troy Carter
• Dr. Joe Ramos, Director and CEO of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center
• Senator Bill Cassidy
• First Lady Jill Biden

Background on the Cancer Moonshot:

As Vice President, in 2016, Joe Biden led the Cancer Moonshot with the mission to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. The cancer advocacy, patient, research and health care communities responded with tremendous energy and ingenuity. Now, President Biden and the First Lady have reignited the Cancer Moonshot and set a new national goal: if we work together, we can cut the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer.

Background on Louisiana Cancer Research Center:

The Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC) is a non-profit cancer research consortium in New Orleans that consists of four major Louisiana research and medical institutions: Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, Tulane University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Ochsner Health. LCRC was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 2002. The center aims to reduce the impact of cancer across Louisiana and the Gulf region through cancer research, patient care, and education. LCRC-affiliated researchers and institutions receive federal funding to support their cancer research and programs.

Background on Dr. Biden's Cancer Advocacy Efforts:

The First Lady has been a tireless champion of the Cancer Moonshot – traveling the country and the world to hear from cancer patients and their families, as well as those who support them – focusing on the importance of early detection and improving the experience of patients, families, and caregivers.??

First Lady Jill Biden's advocacy for cancer education and prevention began in 1993, when four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer. Following that year, she launched the Biden Breast Health Initiative to educate Delaware high school girls about the importance of cancer prevention. As First Lady,?she continues her work emphasizing early detection efforts and improving the patient, family and caregiver experience with cancer. She has also focused on the importance of cancer screenings, especially those delayed or put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has encouraged government partners, the business community, and non-profit sectors to help make screenings more accessible and available to all.

FLOTUS Press Pool Report #2 - New Orleans, LA

(New Orleans) --First Lady Jill Biden toured the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in downtown New Orleans Friday afternoon, praising the work of local cancer researchers and stressing the Biden Administration's commitment to preventing, detecting and "ending cancer as we know it."

The First Lady's remarks followed a 40-minute tour of the LCRC on a visit designed to highlight the importance of investing in cancer research and to mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month.

Investing in cancer research is part of the Biden administration's Cancer Moonshot, a bipartisan policy initiative created during the Obama administration and reignited by President Joe Biden in early 2022. The Moonshot's goal is to cut cancer death rates by at least 50% over the next 25 years.

In remarks to a room of more than 100 researchers, health care providers, elected officials and civic leaders, Biden recalled her sister Jan's difficult battle with lymphoma and the stem cell therapy that saved her life.

"We were terrified of losing her but even as I held her hand and my breath through doctor visit after doctor visit, I found hope in the fact that researchers like you were working tirelessly to find the best, most effective treatments," Biden said.

She also noted that New Orleans and Louisiana have some of the highest cancer rates in the nation.

"Cancer changes everyone it touches, and, in some ways, it touches us all," Biden said. "This community knows that more than most. So many families here in New Orleans have lost loved ones to the disease and I know that is why you are here and why you do the work you do."

The visit was Biden's first to Louisiana as First Lady, though she is no stranger to New Orleans. Her daughter, Ashley Biden, went to Tulane University in the early 2000s, and Biden joked that as a Tulane mom she would "sneak down" to check on her because, "You never know what's going on. It's just too much fun down here."

After the LCRC tour, Biden was headed to the New Orleans Book Festival on the Tulane campus for a previously unannounced stop.

The First Lady arrived at the LCRC at 2:30 p.m., surrounded by an encourage of handlers and accompanied by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., and his wife, Dr. Laura Cassidy; U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans; Mayor LaToya Cantrell and State Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-Algiers.

LCRC President and CEO Dr. Joseph Ramos greeted them and took them on a tour of the facility that included two stops. The first was to a lab, where researchers are studying cancer-causing viruses, which account for some 15-20% of all cancers.

Dr. Erik Flemington, Professor of Cancer Research, Tulane University Medical Center, explained that the research in his lab is focused on identifying weaknesses in the viruses that could be targeted with vaccines or other therapies.

The second stop was to a presentation with nurses and physicians at the LCRC that are collaborating virtually on clinical trials with partner institutions in smaller cities, like Gulfport, Mississippi.

Eileen Mederos, clinical trials network manager at the Louisiana State University Stanley Scott Cancer Center, explained to Biden that the institutions collaborate virtually in their review of patients' Electronic Health Records and decide who might be eligible for new drug trials then work to get those patients into treatment.

Only 2-4% of patients, who are eligible for the trials, typically participate, Mederos said.

Biden said she would like to see more patients take advantage of the opportunities.

Today's visit to the LCRC is the latest of several stops Jill Biden has made in the year since her husband's administration reignited the Cancer Moonshot. She has traveled the country and the world to hear from cancer patients and their loved ones, as well as researchers, physicians, nurses and patient navigators.

In recent months the initiative has announced more than 25 new programs, policies and resources to address five areas: closing the cancer screening gap; understanding and addressing environmental exposure, decreasing the impact of preventable cancers, bringing cutting edge research to patients and communities, and supporting patients and caregivers.

In the FY 2024 budget, unveiled Thursday, President Joe Biden makes strategic investments in in the Cancer Moonshot to help increase funding for prevention, detection and treatment – a fact Jill Biden highlighted in her closing remarks.

"Together, across party and state lines we're building a world where cancer is not a death sentence, where treatments are less toxic and people live longer, healthier lives," she said. "It's ambitious but it is within our reach."