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Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and his first lady, Casey DeSantis, announced Tuesday the approval of $100 million for cancer research and care to be included in the fiscal year 2022-2023 budget, an increase of $37 million over the current budget.
Governor DeSantis said cancer remains a frequent cause of death in Florida, so his administration will continue to provide support to those fighting the disease.
DeSantis wants early care for all patients
“With this funding, cancer centers will continue their cutting-edge research and provide high quality care to patients,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Our family is grateful for the care that the First Lady received during her cancer treatment this past year, and we want to make quality care available for all Floridians.”
For her part, the first lady, who is a breast cancer survivor herself, said the increased cancer budget makes her “incredibly proud.”
“Early detection is a game changer in the cancer fight,” Casey DeSantis said. “I encourage anyone reading this to be proactive about your health — it might just save your life.”
The state’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, said funding to cancer institutes will enable the discovery of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
According to the Florida Department of Health, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Sunshine State since 2014, behind only cardiovascular disease.
The funds will go to the Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Florida Health Cancer Center.
Florida’s first lady recently made her first campaign appearance since completing her treatment. After nearly 5 months as a recovering patient, she was declared cancer-free in February this year.
