39 + Rainbow

Each day Senator Sam Brownback is besieged with requests: for money, for policy decisions, for favors. Working in Washington, D.C., it is easy to lose touch with reality and see people and problems as mere words in legislation.

Perhaps it is the operation that took a “big hunk of flesh” from him that has allowed Brownback to stay grounded. In 1995, Brownback was diagnosed with melanoma and underwent two surgeries. Since then, he has become the co-chair of the Senate Cancer Caucus and given numerous speeches to cancer groups.

He supports the National Institutes of Health’s goal to alleviate suffering and death from cancer by 2015.

Last September, Brownback, along with 90 other senators, sent a letter to President Bush about the importance of that mission. Brownback believes Congress can be a partner in the fight against cancer. “Congress can serve an oversight role by guiding the federal government’s overall efforts and ensuring that resources are well-spent,” Brownback said.

“The legislative process – even when it doesn’t result in new bills getting passed – serves as an incubator and vehicle for new ideas to help advance our efforts against cancer,” Brownback said.

The University of Kansas Medical Center is fortunate to have Brownback as an ally in its quest to house a world-class cancer center. “I support the University of Kansas Medical Center’s effort to become designated as one of the National Cancer Institute’s Comprehensive Cancer Centers, and to that end I support federal funding for the renovation of the laboratories in the Lied Building,” Brownback said.

With more space becoming available in the new Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center, renovation of vacated space in the Lied Building is key to furthering cancer research at KUMC.

Brownback has requested funds for Lied in draft legislation. “This funding represents an important step toward Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, and I will fight to see that the funds are preserved as we move forward in the legislative process,” Brownback said. +

Every 24 hours, the economic burden imposed by cancer in Kansas mounts by $4.4 million.

To address the burden cancer imposes on patients and their families, and to combat economic and emotional costs, the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) approached Governor Kathleen Sebelius with a vision to build a world-class cancer center. She embraced the vision and allocated $5 million to support this endeavor in her fiscal year 2007 budget.

In 2006, leaders at KUMC began educating legislators on the benefits a world-class cancer center could bring to Kansas. A Legislative Briefing Book was created, detailing the rigorous steps necessary to establish a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Briefing Book remains available on KUMC’s home page (www.kumc.edu).

The KU model involves a community-based approach to comprehensive cancer care. Roy Jensen, MD, director of the KU Cancer Center explained, “Our cancer center is not a fortress based only in Kansas City, but an alliance of health care providers, brought together to bring world-class cancer screening, prevention, and Phase I clinical trials to the region.”

Legislators overwhelmingly supported the Governor’s $5 million budget allocation. The financial support provided by the Governor and the Kansas Legislature already is bearing fruit. It helped the KU Cancer Center recruit world-class researchers and clinicians, establish the Office of Therapeutics, Discovery and Development, and organize the Midwest Cancer Alliance, the community-based outreach organization. KUCC is assembling all the pieces necessary to establish a worldclass cancer center to serve the Heartland. +