By Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. Senator

You may know someone, perhaps a loved one, whose life was cut short by cancer. Each year in Texas, an estimated 35,000 people die of this devastating disease, and 85,000 new cases are diagnosed.

These are heart-breaking statistics. However, it is also likely that you know people who have won their battle with cancer. Early diagnosis and better public awareness have increased cancer survival rates in recent years.

When I was a young woman, breast cancer and cervical cancer simply weren’t talked about publicly. But thankfully, in the early 1980s, a courageous woman from Dallas named Nancy Brinker was determined to break that deadly silence.

Nancy had lost her sister, Susan G. Komen, to breast cancer, and she was convinced that Susan’s outcome would have been better if patients knew more about cancer prevention and treatment. She made a promise to her sister that she would find a way to speed up breast cancer research. In 1982, Nancy honored that promise by creating The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

In the 25 years since that historic meeting, Komen has dedicated nearly $1 billion to building public awareness and finding a cure for breast cancer, making it the nation’s largest private funding source for breast cancer. And Komen has pledged to invest an additional $1 billion in education, community health programs and research in the next decade.

In addition to Komen, non-profit organizations like the American Cancer Society, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation have significantly increased public awareness about the need for early and regular screenings, and have also raised billions of dollars for cancer research.

Many of those research dollars are being poured into Texas hospitals and research institutions. In fact, Texas has become one of the global leaders in cancer research, and it’s possible that the cure for cancer could eventually be discovered right here in our state.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is the nation’s leading recipient of National Cancer Institute (NCI) research grants and has been working to eliminate cancer for more than six decades. M.D. Anderson has ranked as one of the top two hospitals in cancer care every year since U.S. News & World Report began its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey in 1990. Other influential Texas institutions like The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the Texas Children’s Cancer Center contribute significantly to the progress of cancer research in the United States and throughout the world.

There is hope in the fight against cancer, but we must be vigilant in our efforts. As we work toward a cure, regular screenings and early diagnosis are the best ways to prevent and beat this disease. I encourage you to talk to your doctor to determine which screenings you need andhow often you should have them. Please also continue to volunteer your time and make donations to life-saving charitable organizations. 

Kay Bailey Hutchinson is the senior senator from the state of Texas. Contact her local offices at 145 Duncan Drive, Suite 120, San Antonio, Texas 78226 or by telephone at 340-2885.