To The Reader’s Forum:

In February 2023, I checked into Roswell Park Cancer Center with an extremely rare blood disease. Two years later I am in remission and thriving.

Were it not for the doctors and staff of Roswell’s leukemia department, as well as cutting edge research that provided a treatment protocol for me which didn’t exist a decade earlier, I’d be dead.

I went back to Roswell for a check-up today, and I heard my doctor lament that research programs have skidded to a halt at Roswell, and scientists are without paychecks thanks to federal budget cuts that have abolished, indiscriminately, research into cancer and other dreadful diseases.

In a Facebook debate with one of my “friends,” this individual explained to me that his vote for Trump was about two things – teaching liberals a lesson and protecting children. This gentleman believed strongly that his vote was shielding a generation of children from, well, I’m not sure what.

I certainly hope the children he is protecting never experience a catastrophic illness. Because Trump’s policies mean there are no medical breakthroughs on the horizon.

Then again, if you’re Elon Musk – the billionaire father of 14 children with four women – the billionaire responsible for slashing these budgets – if you’re Elon, you have the money to do whatever it takes to keep your children well. Go wherever funding has not been slashed to get the care that every parent wants when a child’s wellbeing hangs in the balance.

Sincerely,

Barbara Birt

Mayville