FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2007
Contact:
Jenny Heumann
703-519-1427
heumannj@asco.org
Alexandria, VA. – The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) supports Texas Proposition 15, which, if passed this Election Day on November 6, would authorize up to $3 billion in state general revenue bonds to fund cancer research, prevention, early detection, and control programs.
In this year alone, more than 95,000 Texans will be diagnosed with cancer, and more than 37,000 will die from the disease. In addition, more than 650,000 Texans are cancer survivors. Treating all of these people costs Texans $30 billion each year in direct and indirect costs. It is critical that we advance research to improve cancer detection, treatment, and control to help these Texans and all Americans.
The United States is in the midst of the longest sustained period of flat federal funding for cancer research. The budgets for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have been flat for 4 years – and in real terms, funding has fallen significantly. The NIH budget has fallen 13 percent since 2003, and the NCI budget has fallen 12 percent since 2004, when adjusted for research inflation, using the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index.
At a time when federal funding for cancer research is stagnant or decreasing, state efforts will play a major role in ensuring quality care for people with cancer. Proposition 15 is a state constitutional amendment to establish the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas that would:
• Conduct research to prevent or cure cancer.
• Support existing cancer research efforts in Texas.
• Implement the Texas Cancer Plan, a statewide blueprint for cancer prevention and control.
ASCO applauds the efforts of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas legislature, the state’s cancer researchers and their institutions to successfully pass legislation establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and giving voters in the state an opportunity to support Proposition 15 and make an impact against the disease that strikes one in three Americans.
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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional organization representing physicians of all oncology subspecialties who care for people with cancer. ASCO’s nearly 25,000 members from the United States and abroad set the standard for patient care and lead the efforts to discover more effective cancer treatments, increase funding for clinical and translational research, and, ultimately, improve cancer care for the estimated 10 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide each year. ASCO publishes the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the preeminent, peer-reviewed, medical journal on clinical cancer research, and produces People Living With Cancer (www.plwc.org), a comprehensive consumer website providing oncologist-vetted cancer information to help patients and families make informed health-care decisions.
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