By chronic disease , doctors mean `` the way we think of diabetes or heart disease as chronic diseases , where people could live in peaceful coexistence with cancer , as opposed to the cancer continuing to advance , '' said Brawley , who also is CNNhealth.com 's conditions expert . Dr. Tony Reid , an oncologist and director of clinical trials at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California , San Diego , shares this view . He sees the long-term management of certain cancers as chronic illness as a `` primary intermediate step '' as researchers work towards cures . Prevention efforts , including discouraging smoking , obesity , and environmental hazards , are also important components of the cure , Dr. Andreas Ullrich , medical officer in cancer control at the World Health Organization in Geneva , Switzerland . How long it will actually take to cure cancer is anyone 's guess , but Obama 's initiative is encouraging , he said . `` We need this hope , '' Ullrich said . `` We need to invest in our efforts in research , in basic research , and also in social science to understand
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama 's pledge to conquer cancer `` in our time '' is a great goal , but one of America 's top cancer experts is n't sure he 'd use the word `` cure . '' Despite chemotherapy , some breast cancers recur , like a `` smoldering fire that flares up , '' Dr. Otis Brawley said . `` The idea of -LSB- calling for -RSB- a cure does scare me a little bit because , I do n't think that 's realistic in some cancers , '' says Dr. Otis Brawley , chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society . `` But I like the general overall idea , and I 'm thrilled about the focus on health . '' Obama 's first proposed budget includes $ 6 billion for cancer research by the National Institutes of Health . That 's on top of the additional $ 10 billion provided by the stimulus package for 2009 and 2010 . But some cancer specialists say that rather than finding a cure , a more realistic scenario is that certain cancers that are fatal today will move into the realm of chronic illnesses .