Loriana Hernandez-Aldama has won Emmy awards as a network news anchor and medical reporter. She’s also a two-time cancer survivor who turned her story into a memoir. In a commentary for the Association of American Cancer Institutes, Hernandez-Aldama shares her own experience to highlight the importance of funding cancer research.
“Disruptions to cancer research—whether due to political decisions, financial barriers, or shifting priorities—threaten to stall the progress we’ve made. But cancer doesn’t wait for funding debates to resolve. It doesn’t pause for legislative timelines. Patients need solutions now. Every minute, every day, every breakthrough matters,” she wrote in the commentary.
The commentary notes that without National Institutes of Health funding, patients are left in limbo, waiting for a breakthrough that may come too late. Hernandez-Aldama also notes the need for more research on long-term complications of cancer and integrated mental health services, especially for minority patients, who often experience higher levels of emotional distress but are less likely to seek or receive the care they need.
Read the commentary on the AACI website.