When he was diagnosed with cancer in 1995, Melvin Mann’s doctors told him he had three years to live. Thanks to decades of scientific progress powered by federal funding, Mann beat those odds. Today, he’s a dedicated advocate for issues facing people with cancer. (Credit: Courtesy Melvin Mann)

Federally funded science is critical to discovering new treatments for disease. Just ask Melvin Mann, who was a 37-year-old Army major when doctors diagnosed him with an aggressive and deadly blood cancer called chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML.

Thanks to his participation in a clinical trial, he has been able to live a long and healthy life. And he hasn’t forgotten where the research that saved him came from.

He and his wife regularly advocate with elected leaders on behalf of issues affecting people with cancer, hoping more lives like his can be saved. He knows that if the government pulls back on funding basic research, progress for those people “would come to a standstill,” Mann says. “It would just be a big red light. It would just stop, and you’d have to just be satisfied with what you have now.”

Read the whole story from the UC Newsroom

Speak up for science: Contact your representative today

About

View all post by