Armstrong urges more funds for cancer research

WASHINGTON -- Seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong said yesterday that the United States, which is embroiled in a costly war in Iraq, should focus more effort on a war facing many Americans -- the one against cancer.

Although the United States declared war on cancer in 1971, Armstrong said, in some ways, the country is losing that war.

''I'm not saying that spending on wars and terrorism is a bad thing," Armstrong said in an interview on ABC's ''This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

Asked if the United States is doing enough to fight cancer, Armstrong replied: ''I think we could spend more money. I think we could spend our money in different places. And I think we could spend our money where it matters to the American people."

Armstrong, who is on the President's Cancer Panel, said the National Cancer Institute and other US health agencies need more money to better fight cancer.

''This is one of the few years where they have not had more money. As a survivor, I think we would be better spending money on an illness like cancer," said Armstrong, who was diagnosed in 1996 with testicular cancer that spread to his brain and lungs.

The National Cancer Institute received $4.8 billion in fiscal 2005, and although it requested more for 2006, its funding is expected to be unchanged.

The US government has spent about $300 billion since late 2001 fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. About two-thirds of that was for Iraq.

Cancer is a leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly half of all US men and about a third of women will develop cancer in their lifetimes.

A month after winning his seventh straight Tour de France and then retiring, Armstrong said he planned to focus his efforts on fighting cancer. Armstrong, who in 1997 set up a foundation to help cancer patients deal with the disease, said he hopes to be more of an activist for the cause, like Irish rock star and anti-poverty activist Bono of U2.

''To me, this illness is not a political issue," he said. ''I can talk to a lot of people and say this should be a priority for our country."

Armstrong also said that he'll travel to Crawford, Texas, Saturday to ride mountain bikes with him around Bush's ranch.

''It's a dream scenario for me," Armstrong said. ''Now that President Bush doesn't run anymore, he rides his mountain bike fanatically."

Bush has become an avid biker in the last couple of years, after a knee injury forced him to give up his jogging routine.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.