In the first half of the 20th century, cancer was misunderstood. It was widely considered a death sentence, and some people believed it was contagious and something to be ashamed of.
“It was a disease diagnosis that was whispered about and kept secret,” said Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute.
Decades of advocacy — and scientific breakthroughs — have dramatically changed that. The U.S. government has spent more money on the fight against cancer than any other disease, and many cancers are far less deadly than they once were.
[Activist Mary] Lasker started a crusade. In the 1940s, broadcasters wouldn’t say “cancer” on the radio. She worked to change that, with the help of her husband, Albert Lasker, an advertising executive. The couple persuaded Reader’s Digest to do a series of articles about cancer. And Lasker persuaded her friend behind the Ann Landers advice column to write about it.
Lasker, who died in 1994 at age 93, didn’t just focus on changing the popular perceptions of cancer. She wanted to cure cancer, and that demanded a real investment in medical research.
