Health

Follow PBS NewsHour’s complete coverage of Health and Medicine.

President Nixon signs the National Cancer Act in 1971. Photo courtesy of the National Cancer Institute. It was President Richard Nixon's "Christmas gift to the nation." On Dec. 23, 1971, he faced a crowd full of congressmen and…

It was President Nixon's "Christmas gift to the nation." On Dec. 23, 1971, he faced the television cameras in the East Room of the White House and declared "total national commitment" to finding a cure for cancer and the funds…