ACS CAN Praises Governor Murphy and Legislature for Protecting Cancer Funds

TRENTON, NJ – July 2, 2018 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACS CAN) Managing Director of Government Relations Bill Sherman has released the following statement following passage and enactment of the FY 19 by the state legislature and Governor Murphy:

“On behalf of our volunteers statewide, I am grateful to see that Governor Murphy and the state legislature have maintained funding in the new budget for the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR) and other cancer related programs in New Jersey.

“The $2 million allocated for the NJCCR supports research in our state that has provided significant advances in the fight against cancer and in saving lives and protecting health. This funding protects current cancer research as well as our ability to keep some of our country’s top clinicians in our state.

“We are also pleased that the budget also includes $7 million from the one percent cigarette tax dedication for tobacco control programs, $3 million for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and $500,000 additionally for tobacco cessation.

“It is projected that in 2018 more than 53,000 New Jerseyans will hear the message that they have cancer. More than 16,000 of our state’s residents will lose their lives to cancer this year. We know that we can and must do better. Governor Murphy often has spoken of the need to keep our state at the forefront of innovation, and this development is certainly a step in that direction.

“We look forward to continue working with the governor and the legislature to support lifesaving and health protecting measures in our state.”

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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