Changing the paradigm in the cancer war: a strategy for the healthy and proper care of the sick.

The War on Cancer refers to the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments. The aim of this effort was to eradicate cancer as a major cause of death. The signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971 by then US President Richard Nixon is generally viewed as the beginning of the war on cancer, though it was not described as a “war” in the legislation itself [1].