Former Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan headlines the push for more dollars to improve cancer research and treatment in Florida.
By ALISA ULFERTS
Published November 19, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Florida has the second-worst rate of cancer and mortality in the country, but ranks 20th in federal grants for cancer research.
Frank Brogan says he wants to change that.
The Florida Atlantic University president and former Florida lieutenant governor, who lost his mother and a wife to breast cancer, joined with a consortium of cancer specialists and researchers Thursday to attract research dollars and cutting edge cancer treatments to the state.
The group, the Florida Dialogue on Cancer, called on state lawmakers to commit $500-million over the next five years to improve Florida's cancer treatment and research system. Such spending could attract $200-million in federal grants and $271-million in private donations, Brogan said.
"This is not an expenditure but an investment," Brogan said, acknowledging the difficulty of getting lawmakers to spend so much money when they are paring back other spending.
The scarcity of money was a topic of discussion Wednesday by the Senate Health Care Committee. Chairman Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, warned senators that changes were needed to prevent Medicaid from gobbling up the state budget.
Still, Gov. Jeb Bush said last week that the $1.6-billion in additional revenue the state has in this year's budget should largely go to fund health care and education.
Brogan said Florida is uniquely positioned to become a leader in cancer research.
"We think we can advance the ball farther because we have a great petri dish of population," he said.
To that end, the group unveiled a Web site (www.FloridaCancerTrials.com) to educate cancer patients and their families and to connect them with clinical trials across the state.
The site also allows people to find clinical trials out of state if nothing appropriate is found in Florida.
The Web site was launched with $500,000 written into the federal budget by Rep. C.W. Bill Young, the Largo Republican who heads the House Appropriations Committee. The group hopes for even more money next year for advertising.
Florida's older population translates into higher cancer rates, said Bentley Lipscomb, president of AARP of Florida. In fact, Lipscomb, 67, attended Thursday's news conference with a bandage over his nose; his dermatologist had just removed a cancerous growth.
"I am now one of the every two men who is personally affected by cancer," Lipscomb said.
Despite the state's high cancer rate, it received only $38-million last year in research funding from the National Cancer Institute.
California, in comparison, received $651-million - 17 times more than Florida.
By the end of this year, 97,200 Floridians will be diagnosed with cancer. Some 40,000 will die of the disease by year's end.
The Florida Dialogue on Cancer hopes to improve those numbers by providing more education about the disease and increasing the amount of cancer research.
It plans to work with existing research facilities, such as the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and the Scripps Research Institute in Palm Beach County. Lawmakers have already committed $369-million to Scripps' Florida presence.
The benefits are worth the money, Brogan said. "They are funding this collection of genius on the whole issue of cancer," Brogan said, gesturing to a dozen doctors and scientists gathered with him.
