Supporting the Cancer Moonshot Effort at EPA

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Supporting the Cancer Moonshot Effort at EPA

April 4, 2024

"Who do you want to be when you grow up?"

How many times do we hear this throughout our lives? For me, I heard this question more times than I can count. As a child, I thought I knew - I wanted to become a medical doctor. However, life does not always seem to work out how you think it should.

As a biology major during my undergraduate schooling, I learned that I like (and was good at!) research. However, I still didn't know clearly what I wanted to do for a career. It was when I was completing my Masters program at the University of Buffalo, Graduate Division of Roswell Park Cancer Institute that I discovered the field of epidemiology and the role of public health research in identifying risk factors that can lead to prevention of disease. I learned that one of the best ways to fight cancer is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Prevention is key.

April is National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month

On February 2, 2022, President Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot effort that he initiated in 2016 as Vice President. As part of this effort, the President convened his "Cancer Cabinet," which includes the leaders of more than 15 agencies, offices, and departments, including EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The Cancer Cabinet helps coordinate efforts across the federal government to advance the President's vision for "ending cancer as we know it."

Two of the five priority areas pertain to EPA work that centers on prevention:

• Understand and prevent toxic and environmental exposures
• Prevent more cancers before they start

Through the Cancer Moonshot effort, April has been designated as National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month.

EPA Efforts to Reduce Exposure to Carcinogens and Prevent Cancer

EPA's mission is to protect public health and the environment. One way we do that is by reducing risks people face from toxic exposures. Certain chemicals and radioactive materials can cause cancer when people are exposed to them. EPA conducts research to understand where these risks come from, develops and implements regulations to reduce these risks, and supports voluntary efforts to reduce exposure to carcinogens.

City skyline in San Francisco, California.

During my 22 years at EPA, I have examined how different types of exposures influence human health. This includes cumulative exposures, which are defined as past and present exposures to multiple environmental stressors. Specifically, my team created the Environmental Quality Index (EQI) for all counties in the U.S. Using the EQI, we examined cumulative environmental quality and cancer incidence and found that counties with poor environmental quality demonstrated a higher incidence of cancer cases than counties with good environmental quality. This study highlights the need for more research in addressing cumulative environmental exposures.

Serving on the EPA's Cancer Cabinet team is meaningful and exciting to me because of the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers across the federal government to advance cancer prevention. I also have the benefit of learning about cancer prevention activities across the federal government, not just in the research realm. This insight presents a unique opportunity to promote the translation of research to inform actions that prevent cancer.

To learn more, please visit the EPA Efforts to Reduce Exposure to Carcinogens and Prevent Cancer webpage.

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