Texas Legislature OK's bond measure to fund cancer research

Embracing the lofty goal of curing cancer in a decade, lawmakers Thursday approved a $3 billion bond proposal for the November ballot.

If Texas voters agree to the constitutional amendment, the state could float $300 million a year in general obligation bonds to establish the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute.

The effort to fight cancer has garnered widespread legislative support, but some critics have argued that cancer research should be funded by state general revenue rather than debt.

Seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, Gov. Rick Perry and the state's leading cancer research institutions have urged Texas to take a world lead in preventing cancer deaths.
Lawmakers also have sent Perry a bill to establish the cancer research institute, which he is expected to sign.

"Who hasn't been affected by this terrible disease, either personally or with a loved one?" asked Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, author of HJR 90, approved by 116 members of the House. "What a wonderful thing it would be to say we actually cured cancer and that Texas was in the middle of it."

One in four deaths statewide, or 35,000 Texans, are lost to cancer each year, stressed Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, a sponsor of the initiative.

"This is a major victory for the cancer community, and we have just begun to fight," she said. "We are going to take this momentum and keep it going as we talk to the people of this state."

If established, lawmakers hope the institute will help attract the best and brightest research scientists to Texas.

The Legislature could opt to issue bonds or fund the institute over the next 10 years through state general revenue.

Backers acknowledge that there is unlikely a single cure for cancer, which actually refers to several different diseases that stem from hundreds of genes in the human body.

"There's going to be tremendous ramifications from this research for medicine in general, not just cancer," said John Mendelsohn, president of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

For instance, he said, side effects of cancer treatment lead to knowledge about unusual infections and how to manage the failure of major organs such as the lungs and kidneys.

Mendelsohn says cancer is the most common cause of death from disease for children age 5 through young adulthood.

"I believe this will greatly enhance our opportunity to contribute to reducing deaths from cancer and prolonging life that is meaningful and enjoyable for those people who have cancer," he said.

Research is ultimately what will cure cancer, and medical breakthroughs could happen throughout the state, said Dr. Karen Fields, an oncologist, president and CEO for the San Antonio-based Cancer Therapy & Research Center.

"It's really good news," she said of the legislative initiative. "It's a great thing for Texas."