Funding cancer research for our kids and rural communities: op-ed
Dr. Nicole Carter | 1.13.26
As a pediatrician, I never know what the day will bring. Most days involve talking about potty training or treating strep throat or ear infections. But there is the rare day that includes a phone call to a pediatric oncologist. As a pediatrician in a rural area, these are the days I dread the most but they also inspire me to push forward.
I practiced medicine in the Auburn/Opelika area for 20 years. Caring for families and children in small communities in Alabama is close to my heart, especially after moving here from bigger cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C. Those of us who choose to live in rural areas appreciate the slower pace of life. But we shouldn’t have to sacrifice our health to enjoy it.
Unfortunately, many rural communities like mine are facing a growing health care crisis, with hospitals closing, providers moving away, and difficulty recruiting new physicians to the area. My patients must drive two hours to get to the closest children’s hospital. And those are just the patients with reliable transportation and adults in their lives who can get them to those locations. My biggest worry for my pediatric patients centers around access to specialty care, which I’ve seen slip away over the last 20 years.
Right now, there is another threat to our rural community: the question of our country’s federal investment in critical cancer research and prevention programs through the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I already worry about my patients accessing the best treatments and clinical trials when they are diagnosed with something like cancer. The reality is that NIH-funded projects help bring clinical trials, telehealth models and other new care approaches into rural communities. We need to continue supporting the start of new clinical trials, particularly in our rural areas where cancer outcomes and costs are already worse. Without robust funding, many rural residents will have little to no access to cutting edge treatments.
In addition, NIH funding creates rural jobs for people including research staff, technicians and data managers, supports small businesses and attracts additional economic investment. For areas with limited economic engines, research funding can be a stabilizing force. In Alabama alone, the NIH funds nearly $400 million in research, leading to more than 4,000 jobs created. Each dollar from the NIH generates $2.56 in economic activity so those research funds create almost $1 billion in economic activity statewide.
In the U.S., we’ve come a long way over the last 30 years, with a 34% decline in cancer mortality rates. That is a credit to our federal investments in cancer research, and I’ve seen the proof in my own pediatric patients. Still, cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death for children. Approximately 15,000 children and adolescents faced a cancer diagnosis in 2025 and over 1,600 died from the disease. Cancer impacts everyone and unfortunately it impacts our rural communities more. That’s why cancer should never be a partisan issue. I urge members of Congress, including Alabama Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville as well as Rep. Robert Aderholt, who sits on the appropriations committee for Health and Human Services funding, to continue to fund research and prevention programs at the highest possible levels. We need to ensure the health of our children and our local economies don’t fall more behind. Our kids make it all worth it.
