Scott gets much-needed help for cancer centers
At an event at Moffitt Cancer Center on Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott showcased the state’s investments in fighting cancer in recent years.
Since proposing Florida’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Program to increase the number of cancer centers in the Sunshine State back in 2014, Scott has overseen more than $300 million in funding.
“Nearly everyone has been affected by cancer in some way. Our families deserve to have the best treatment possible without leaving Florida, which is why I have fought for funding to make our state the best state in the nation for cancer research and treatment,” the governor said on Thursday.
Dr. Alan List, the president and CEO of Moffitt Cancer Center also weighed in on the matter.
“Thanks to the continued support of Governor Scott, we have been able to fund cutting-edge research and recruit doctors and scientists from around the world to bring their skills to Moffitt. We will continue to work everyday to find innovative treatments for our patients as we search for the breakthroughs of tomorrow,” List said.
Moffitt, which was ranked as the best cancer hospital in the region this year, has garnered more than $100 million of those funds as it treats patients from every county in Florida, every state in the U.S. and more than 130 counties across the globe.
“The NCI Cancer Center Program provides $60 million each year to Florida’s three Cancer Centers – Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of Florida Health Shands Cancer Center, and the University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center,” Scott’s office noted. “Funding from the program helps these cancer centers enhance research and innovation and supports their work to maintain or achieve an NCI designation. When the Shands Cancer Center and the Sylvester Cancer Center receive NCI designation, Florida will join North Carolina as the only state in the Southeast with multiple NCI-designated cancer centers.”
Facing term limits after eight years in Tallahassee, Scott overwhelmingly won the Republican primary on Tuesday and will challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in November.