The Lone Star State is looking to become a leader in cancer research and prevention over the next ten years — and is investing three billion dollars to do it.
That three billion dollars would make Texas the holder of the second largest bank of cancer research funds in the nation — second only to the National Cancer Institute. And Texas is already home to some leaders in the fight against cancer, like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The idea to create the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas was approved by Texan voters in 2007, thanks in part to campaigning by Lance Armstrong himself. Now the time has come to put the plan into action.
Texas is putting the call out to researchers, experts, and scientists: the money is here, so come and get it. The state is planning to dole out four hundred and fifty million dollars over the first two years — and has plenty of grant applicants in line for awards. The first grants are expected to be awarded in the spring of 2010.
Over the next ten years, the state will spend approximately $260 million annually on research and another $30 million annually on preventive measures like cancer screenings. (Some Texas legislators would like to see more of the annual budget spent on screenings and other early detection and intervention.) There is talk of creating a statewide clinical trial network, to give cancer patients access to experimental treatments.
More money for research? Better prevention efforts? Great! But don’t expect an overnight win in the war on cancer. Researching, creating, and testing new treatments takes time. Lots of time. The Institute doesn’t expect to see any new drugs on the market as a result of their work for at least four years.
Still, it’s exciting to see so much money and attention being given to the fight against cancer. In a perfect world, every disease would be attacked with our best arsenal of minds and money… until the problem was just a memory.