AUSTIN, Texas – With years of critical research and lifesaving prevention efforts in danger of coming to a halt, a diverse group of Texans and advocates today announce a campaign to encourage voters to say Yes on 6 – and fund the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) for another decade.
Texans Fighting Cancer, a broad coalition led by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, implores voters to vote yes for Proposition 6 on the general ballot Nov. 5. Proposition 6 will renew the bonds originally authorized to fund CPRIT, infusing another $3 billion into research and prevention programs working to stop the disease that will claim an estimated 41,000 Texans this year.
With the help of prominent Texans from a wide range of industries, Texans Fighting Cancer is canvassing the state to save the agency that has funded more than 5.7 million prevention services in all 254 counties, which led to the detection of over 3,600 cancers and the identification of over 17,000 pre-cancers.
“Generations to come are counting on voters to say ‘Yes on 6’ this November,” said ACS CAN Texas Government Relations Director Marina Hench. “The investment we’ve made in cancer research has paid off: Our state’s cancer mortality rate decreased by 8% from 2011 to 2016, which equals more than 10,500 Texans’ lives saved. Losing CPRIT’s momentum means losing lives.”
For more information about CPRIT’s impact on Texas, the Yes on 6 advisory committee and the campaign, visit texansfightingcancer.org.
A press statement on behalf of ACS CAN in cooperation with Texans Fighting Cancer.