NC lawmakers, advocacy groups call for more funding dedicated to breast cancer research

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Some members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus joined together with breast cancer advocates at Meredith College in Raleigh to discuss how federal cuts are impacting research and funding.

North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross and New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández met with some state lawmakers and breast cancer awareness advocates on Friday.

Advocates say that federal cuts to the National Institutes of Health are impacting breast cancer research, and in the midst of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they want to call attention to it.

They also worry about President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, which would cut funding from the National Institutes of Health and eliminate some research centers.

Panelists at Friday’s event say the NIH needs this funding to continue their research as they are seeing a steady increase in the rate of diagnosis.

“What that means to breast cancer patients is the next breakthrough breast cancer treatment is really threatened if that funding is cut off or curtailed,” said Melanie Wyne, the chief policy officer at the National Breast Cancer Coalition. “We’re gonna lose researchers, we’re gonna lose the next innovation that could treat or prolong someone’s life or keep someone alive.”

One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The foundation estimates nearly 317,000 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer just this year alone.