Virtually any investment in medical research that has a chance of increasing life span is worthwhile, but in the real world, many demands compete for inelastic research budgets. It's not unusual to ask about value when it comes to our loved ones, or even ourselves. Ask a dying person what an extra year of healthy life is worth and the number is likely to be to whatever his or her assets are. The economic value of extending life is so large that research generating even modest advances against major killer diseases is bound to be a superb investment. Research leading to substantial progress against cancer would almost certainly be worth hundreds of billions of dollars to Australia.
Medical research surpasses every other source of rising living standards in our time.
The cost of such lost contributions to society is enormous yet they can be regained by investment into medical research. As outlined above, investment in medical research is delivering these benefits. Presenting these findings to Australians would broaden public understanding of the enormous social and economic value of medical research, and create the economic climate to build a strong public, private and philanthropic commitment to sustaining and expanding investment. The ultimate aim, apart from the cost savings of diagnostic and treatment procedures for particular diseases and the reduction of hospitalisation costs, is to attain longer and healthier quality of life. You may not live forever but now in this unique opportunity your name can be immortalised.