06 January 2006

Sebelius calls for commitment to cancer research
Governor proposes $5 million for KU Cancer Center

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Cancer remains one of the nation’s top health threats. To combat this threat, Governor Kathleen Sebelius intends to make the KU Cancer Center one of the nation’s top sites for cancer research.

Today the governor called on the Legislature to commit $5 million annually to the KU Cancer Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

“Cancer is one of the greatest health challenges we face,” said Sebelius. “While we know more about it today than ever before, it remains a health crisis.”

Governor Sebelius said her commitment to curing cancer comes from her family. She lost an aunt to the disease when Sebelius was 10, and the governor’s husband Gary lost both parents to cancer.

The KU Cancer Center is focused on four areas: cancer risk assessment, prevention and control; cancer biology; drug discovery and development and clinical research.

“The doctors, researchers and scientists here are devoted to advancing the cause of medicine, never forgetting the ultimate goal of medicine is to help people,” said Sebelius. “I truly believe this will be a center for cancer research not just for Kansas City, or for the state of Kansas, but for the entire Midwest.”

In September 2005, KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway declared the university’s top priority overall is obtaining National Cancer Institute designation for the cancer center. Dr. Roy Jensen, a Kansas native, was appointed director of the KU Cancer Center and the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute to lead the effort.

“At the KU Cancer Center we are blessed with the support of a growing number of allies and friends,” Jensen said. “We will continue to reach out to build robust relationships with many other organizations who share our vision and passion. And we will seek the support of private donors who will find in our work a legacy worthy of their investment.”

Statistics show nearly half of all Kansans will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes. Nearly 13,000 Kansans will be diagnosed with cancer this year alone. More than 5,300 will die from the disease. On average, 15 lives are lost each day to some form of cancer.

The economic costs of cancer are significant, not only to patients, but the state itself – more than $4.4 million a day according to the American Cancer Society – due to lost productivity due to the illness and premature deaths as well as direct medical costs.

Dr. Barbara Atkinson, Executive Vice Chancellor for the KU Med Center, thanked the governor for her commitment to the Cancer Center and to the Med Center overall.

“Governor Sebelius has, in these tight budgetary times, consistently demonstrated her commitment to our mission of health education, research and service, and for that we are thankful,” Atkinson said.

The efforts of the Cancer Center will not be KU’s alone as health, business and education leaders from around the state are being asked to contribute to the effort.

“Achieving this dream will require the broadest possible partnership of Kansas leaders, communities and medical institutions,” Hemenway said.

The Legislature opens its session on Monday morning. Sebelius will formally unveil her budget Tuesday.