Sen. Jerry Moran also revealed $10 million allocation for cardiovascular labs
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran wrapped a tour Friday of the University of Kansas Health System campus by celebrating a federal appropriation of $10 million for the KU Cancer Center and $10 million earmark for acquisition of sophisticated cardiovascular equipment.
The Kansas senator made his way through research and direct-care facilities, mingled with faculty, physicians and students as well as people who survived cancer and family members of those who didn’t with Kimryn Rathmell, director of the National Cancer Institute. She was making her first official visit as NCI director to one of the nation’s elite cancer centers.
“What’s taking place at the KU Cancer Center is amazing,” Moran said. “The dollars that are being provided to the University of Kansas are dollars that are well spent. There’s still work to be done.”
Moran said half of U.S. men and one-third of U.S. women would at some point in their lives be diagnosed with cancer. Currently, he said, there was no known treatment for cancers afflicting three of 10 people.
“Really what I think the KU Cancer Center is about is providing hope to everyone,” Moran said.
Roy Jensen, a KU vice chancellor and director of the KU Cancer Center, said federal financial support from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute was imperative to advancing research and treatment.
“Sustainable, predictable, ongoing funding from NIH and NCI is absolutely critical to everything we do,” Jensen said. “It is the lifeblood of the University of Kansas Cancer Center. There’s no question. We have an extraordinary opportunity. I’ve been at this business now for 40 years plus and I’ve never been more hopeful in terms of making progress against this disease. But, that progress needs fuel and that’s the NIH budget and the NCI budget.”
During a news conference, Jensen was asked whether federal investment in cancer research was sufficient to meet the medical challenge.
“One of the things I find most exciting is that, in large part, we’re no longer groping in the dark in terms of what direction our research should be focused,” he said. “Cancer and a lot of other biomedical research is becoming a little bit more like engineering, where we understand the problems we face, and there’s tough problems. We have the tools available to us to solve those problems if we are willing to commit the resources to make it happen.”
KU has raised more than $250 million for construction of a large cancer research and treatment facility on the Kansas City campus, said KU chancellor Doug Girod.
“It’s going to be a game-changer for generations to come, both from the research perspective but also from the patient-care perspective. It’s bringing those two things together under one vision that’s really going to move the needle for us,” Girod said.
In June 2023, the KU Cancer Center received a $100 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation to build the state-of-the-art cancer facility. One year ago, Moran announced a $43 million federal appropriation to the Kansas Center’s programs.
The 2024 Kansas Legislature approved and Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law a $75 million matching-grant appropriation for the project.
Bob Page, president and chief executive officer of KU Health System, said he personally appreciated federal support for the KU Cancer Center. He was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer four years ago and was treated at KU Health System.
“I was able to have this amazingly talented team take care of me,” he said. “And now, four years later, I’m standing before you cancer-free. As a cancer survivor, I am living proof that you do not have Kansas City to get world-class care.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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