A simple blood test could catch cancer early. Washington won’t let you have it

Published September 24, 2026 11:00am ET



In a recent op-ed, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. laid out a clear, urgent vision for the future of our healthcare system, noting the central role of prevention as one of our most powerful tools in medicine.

As a physician, I could not agree more, but achieving that vision requires a federal apparatus that adequately keeps pace with medical innovation. Right now, when it comes to early cancer detection, bureaucratic inertia is standing in the way of the very prevention the secretary is championing.

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