Story by:

• Miles Martin- [email protected]

Topics covered:

• Cancer
• Research
• Research Funding

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For Kimberly Peters, cancer has become an all-too-familiar adversary.

In 2015, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with chemotherapy. Six years later, in 2021, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. In 2023, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to her thigh after she started experiencing hip pain.

After another course of chemo, she was cleared to go on maintenance therapy, consisting of lower doses of medications to keep the cancer from coming back.

For Peters and other patients, these cuts are personal.

"There aren't many clinical trials available for me and my type of cancer, and that's what's scary, especially given what's going on in the world," said Peters. "But there's so much that's in the pipeline, and we won't know if it's going to work if we don't have the research. These decisions don't just hurt institutions. They hurt real people. They're destroying a lot of my hope."

As of June 2025, almost $3.8 billion in NIH research grants have been terminated. In August, the Supreme Court shut down legal efforts by researchers to reinstate $2 billion of these terminated awards, focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"I have a cancer that's specific to females and anything even remotely related to DEI, including research related to women's health, is being targeted, so what does that mean for me?" added Peters.

Moores Cancer Center is a premier site for both standard-of-care cancer therapy and cutting-edge clinical trials. As one of only 57 Comprehensive Cancer Centers as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Moores is largely supported by an NIH Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) - a significant federal award that gives a cancer center its NCI designation.

One of the goals of the current CCSG, which the Cancer Center submitted for renewal earlier this year, is to expand clinical trial operations, providing faster and better access to innovative treatments at multiple sites across the community. In 2025, Moores Cancer Center is projected to enroll nearly 700 patients into clinical trials, a 59% increase over the number enrolled in 2024 and a 141% increase over the 290 patient participants in 2023.

However, cuts to medical research funding could have severe implications for Moores and other cancer centers, reducing the number of clinical trials available and limiting access to the next generation of cures.

"The reason we have clinical trials is because standard of care therapies are not always effective and we need more options for our patients," said Eskander. "Cuts to NIH funding may reduce the overall number of clinical trials and impact staffing, making existing trials more difficult to access for patients."

Fighting on

While only time will reveal the full implications of ongoing federal actions on cancer research and care, for now, Peters is not backing down. She implores people in positions of power to think about what happens when we stop investing in science.

"I wish I could take them to my chemo and let them see what it's like. Let them see the countless people I've sat with during long chemo infusions," she said. "What if the treatment that could save someone in that chemo waiting room - someone's mother, someone's child - was one of those lost discoveries?"

Peters is also grateful for the care she's received from providers at UC San Diego Health.

"When I had my first appointment with Dr. Eskander, he sat down next to me, took my hand, and told me, 'We're going to get through this.'" said Peters. "You can't imagine what those words mean when you have stage 4 cancer."