By Luana Crow
San Antonio stands to gain a lot -
in terms of discovery potential, na-tional and international prestige and options available to local cancer patients - if Texas voters approve a constitutional amendment in November that would invest $3 billion in cancer research.
The plan calls for creation of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute and earmarking $300 million in general obligation bonds every year for the next 10 years to fund cancer research. Among the early proponents of the bill were cancer spokesman and bicycling great Lance Armstrong, bill sponsor Senator Jane Nelson, and representatives of Texas' cancer treatment centers including Karen K. Fields, MD from the Cancer Therapy & Research Center.
Fields is CTRC's president and CEO. She is asking Bexar County physicians, in particular, to vote for the measure and to place information in office lobbies for patients to read.
"This bill will bring a wealth of benefits to San Antonio," said Fields, who also testified before the Senate Finance Committee about the plan's importance. "Funding is increasingly hard to come by and the competition is great. This insightful legislation will make San Antonio more competitive nationally and draw scientists, attracted by the opportunities, to both the state and the city. And beyond that, it will help us provide better treatment options for patients right here in Bexar County."
Senator Nelson described the amendment as "a historic step forward in the fight against cancer." Noting that cancer costs Texas taxpayers more than $30 billion every year, she added, "We are making a wise investment that will establish Texas as the nation's premier cancer research center, bring jobs and economic development, and, most importantly, reduce both the fiscal and human costs of cancer."
BCMS member Greg Swanson, MD takes another view: "Cancer in the early 21st century is what infectious disease was in the early 20th century. The next major leap in medicine will be the control of cancer, but this won't happen without research.
"Texas institutions are major contributors to cancer research and, while there is federal funding, it is not at the level to establish Texas as the leader in cancer research," continued Swanson, a radiation oncologist at the CTRC and an associate professor of radiation oncology, radiology and urology at UTHSCSA.
"This has limited our ability to attract more of the best people and to expand on our promising findings. Through this bill, Texans have the opportunity to decide if they want to enable Texas to take the leadership role in ending the scourge of cancer. This is a bold step and it's exciting to think about."
Data from the National Cancer Institute indicates that about 650,000 Texans have a history of cancer at any given time. Additionally, experts predict an estimated 91,000 new cases this year. About 34,000 Texans will die from the disease.
If the measure passes in November, San Antonians will then need to meet the challenge of a 1-to-1 matching grant, Fields noted. Although the well-known M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor's Dan Duncan Cancer Center hold a competitive edge for snaring grant money, she believes San Antonio should look for creative solutions that could boost the city's reputation as a cancer care destination.
"It's very important for San Antonians to have this tertiary care referral center (CTRC) so they realize they donÕt need to leave the city to receive the latest, most advanced care," she said.
CTRC is a not-for-profit, freestanding, multidisciplinary cancer center that, through its partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, is South Texas' only cancer center recognized by the NCI. CTRC and UTHSCSA work together to accelerate the development of anticancer agents by integrating basic, translational, and clinical research.
More information about the bill is available at http://texanstocurecancer.com.
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