Cancer survivor Cori Casebeer of Redding holds a sign supporting cancer research during the Hands Off! rally on April 5, 2025, outside Redding City Hall. Casebeer says federal cuts to cancer research money is causing panic among people across America who have her type of stage 4 cancer. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
At a recent demonstration in Redding, one sign stood out among the rest.
“Hands off! cancer funding,” read the one waved by Cori Casebeer of Redding.
While others at the April rally protested Trump administration threats to slash any future Social Security or Medicare benefits – among a myriad of other political issues with a general appeal – Casebeer’s plea was immediate and personal.
The 42-year-old was diagnosed with lung cancer about 10 years ago but the advanced stage of her illness has been kept in check thanks to clinical trials that traditionally have been supported by the federal government.
But now, her future treatment is in doubt owing to unexpected and cruel congressional cutbacks under Trump’s rule.
“I’m surviving with stage 4 lung cancer and the only reason is because of federal funding,” she said while standing on the sidewalk with her mother, Margie Stockwell, and a friend who supported her with handmade signs of their own.
Cancer treatment patient Cori Casebeer, left, and her mother, Margie Stockwell, pose for a photo during the Hands Off! protest in Redding on April 5, 2025. Casebeer and her mom were promoting fully-funded cancer research after some programs were reduced by Congress and approved with President Trump’s signature. Photo by Mike Chapman for A News Cafe.
Casebeer is fortunate to have her mom and her father, George, as caregivers.
“Federal funding is so essential for cancer research,” Casebeer said. “I’m so passionate about it because it’s why I’m still alive.”
Clinical trial a life-saver
Casebeer is undergoing a special targeted therapy in a clinical trial through Stanford University.
She’s taking a life-sustaining pill every day with dinner, which carries fewer side effects than regular chemotherapy.
The medicine is named Ensartinib, which she said received FDA approval late last year, and is provided free of charge through the program.
“You can think of it as a targeted chemo,” she said.
Unlike other chemotherapy, Casebeer’s ongoing treatment doesn’t mess with her hair.
“I have my real hair! The medicine I take is a ‘targeted therapy,’ which while similar to chemo. It’s different in that it targets the mutation that is driving the cancer. Chemo kills any cell that’s fast-multiplying, like hair cells. That’s why people lose their hair. So I’ve been able to keep all my hair,” she said this week.
Still, Casebeer feels some effects. She brought her Rollator – a rolling walker – to the demonstration so she could sit when she got tired. Other side effects other than fatigue are a rash and sensitive skin.
Her specialist at Stanford, Dr. Heather Wakelee, focuses on the treatment of lung cancer, thymoma and mesothelioma.
Dr. Wakelee wasn’t available for an interview, according to a Stanford spokeswoman.
“She’s quite busy treating patients and prefers not to comment at this time due to the fluid nature of the proposed funding cuts,” said Lisa Kim, the senior manager of media relations in the Office of Communications for Stanford Health Care and School of Medicine.
Politics irrelevant
The drop in cancer research funding affects families no matter their political affiliation.
“It falls on both sides of the aisle,” Casebeer said. “I have very conservative friends who are very upset about this and have been contacting their legislators about it. They fully support Trump in many things he’s doing, but they do not support him in this part of what he’s doing.
“They understand how research works and that private industry will simply not be able to make up for these cuts,” she added.
During the Hands Off! protest, Casebook wore a T-shirt to also support transgender rights.
“That’s very important to me. I have a lot of trans friends and the administration has just demonized them. And they’re just people like everyone else. (Some) people think they’re some scary monster – they’re just people,” she said.
Joining forces online
Casebeer has learned a lot over the years about dealing with her disease (“A mistake in my DNA,” she calls it) and has found support through similar-minded Facebook groups, including ALK Positive with its 3,600 members. She says she knows thousands of others with her specific genomic mutation.
She recently started another Facebook group for lung-cancer advocates and also is spreading awareness through her TikTok account, @coricasebeer.
She referred to quotes from Kirk Smith, president of the private ALK Positive Inc. cancer charity group, surrounding budget moves by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
“The CDMRP slashed the budget 57 percent – including a cut of $185 million from cancer research programs. Among those cuts, research programs for four of the most aggressive and deadly cancers – lung, pancreatic, glioblastoma and kidney – were cut to zero.
“At a time when the lung cancer community had been lobbying to increase the research funding to $67 million, Congress votes to cut it to zero. These cuts … threaten to have a devastating impact on the progress of research and drug development for the treatment of lung cancer,” Smith wrote.
The CDMRP recently reported in a press release that Trump signed into law the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 that included reduced funding for its programs.
The Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) comprises 38 programs that fight diseases including cancer. This table shows fiscal year cuts amounting to millions of dollars. (Source: Cancer Action Network/American Cancer Society)
Casebeer and other Facebook friends have since contacted their federal legislators about restoring funds for lung cancer research and to fully fund the medical research programs.
She’s gotten in touch with District 1 Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, along with California’s Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff.
She added that job reductions at the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration will hurt cancer patients.
“All of us who live with stage 4 cancer are so panicked because our research money is now down to zero this year and that’s going to affect how long we live. It’s a really dire situation, including the cuts at the Federal Drug Administration. I mean, the FDA approves our drugs,” Casebeer said.
Her body has a genomic mutation involving the ALK gene. Specifically, Casebeer was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer – the adenocarcinoma type with a rare ALK mutation.
Devastated by cuts
Even as a nonsmoker, Casebeer lost half of her left lung through surgery in December 2014. When she was first diagnosed, her “incurable” cancer had metastasized to her brain.
Casebeer has gone through a range of emotions over the past 10 years.
She was initially diagnosed with stage 1 cancer but since lung cancer is difficult to treat, she said the disease returned a year-and-a-half later.
“I was very depressed. I was very, very depressed. But then the drug was working and I realized … it may not be a long life, but I still have life ahead of me,” she said.
“Surprisingly, lung cancer is becoming more common in nonsmokers and that’s why research is so important to find out why that’s happening and then also to fund these essential therapies to keep us living longer, healthier lives,” she said.
Casebeer said the cancer research funding she relies on has been abruptly reduced from $25 million to zero.
“These cuts that have happened from the Trump administration – they did not fully fund all of the cancer research,” she said. “We are just devastated by these cuts,” she added.
Similarly, the congressionally-directed programs eliminated payment for research into glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
Casebeer says she’s lost two friends to that fast-moving and deadly cancer.
“Glioblastoma is getting zero dollars of federal funding this year,” she said. “And people think like, ‘Oh, you know, personal fundraising and things like that can make up for it in the private sector.’”
However, Casebeer says that’s not how it works with research.
“The private sector is going to look for profitability and drugs that will make them money, which is fine and great. But federal research money goes toward trying to figure out why all of this is happening and stopping it.”
Success against sickness
Casebeer is thankful that medical researchers have developed the specialized drug to turn off her mutation in the “itty bitty, tiny little DNA.”
“All the cancer is gone in my body because that drug turned off that DNA mutation. It turned if off – put it to sleep. It’s incredible. The science is incredible,” she said of her temporary remission.
She’s been taking drugs for nine years after previous visits to the University of Southern California and the UC Davis cancer hospital. She moved to Redding to be closer to her mother, father and sister.
But she worries the pill she’s taking now may not remain effective into the future so more work is needed for the next miracle.
“It’s so important to keep coming out with drugs so that I can take the next drug and the next drug and the next drug, and keep going,” she said.
Casebeer travels to Stanford every four months for medical scans to monitor her condition.
She reported great results from her most recent appointment with Dr. Wakelee in late April.
“My scans were good! No cancer ‘progression’ detected in my chest or brain,” she said.
She describes herself as a rare, “super responder” to the medication.
“So because of science, because of this trial, I was able to access a superior drug that has worked so well for me. I strongly believe it is why I am still here,” she said.
Casebeer said she’s survived as long as she has thanks to the clinical trials, dedicated doctors and fundraising for her rare mutation.
“I am beyond lucky. The last nine years have been hard, but I remind myself that although I may be dying, I’m not dying today,” she says on her TikTok account.
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