There are two important cures that the health industry has been lacking for years. The first is a cure to AIDS. A vaccination, which has proven to be about 30% effective, has recently made the news. While there is still no cure, it is safe to say that we are getting closer to learning how to prevent HIV. Science is certainly advancing over the years, and we can only hope that in the future, there will be a cure for HIV. There is no doubt that the new vaccination seems to be a step in the right direction.
Now, it seems that someone feels it is time to begin searching even harder for a cure to the second health problem that the health industry has been lacking. That is the cure for cancer. Who exactly is the one who is stepping up to the plate with money for research? The state of Texas.
According to the Associated Press, Texas is planning to donate $3 billion over the next ten years to promote cancer research and prevention. Aside from the National Cancer Institute, no one has ever donated this much money for cancer education and research purposes.
The money will be paid to scientists that will do cancer research. The AP reports that Texas is offering $2 million or more for both salary and research to the scientists that end up working for them.
While it seems great that a state is willing to put out so much money for such a good cause, there is one problem that seems to be causing a bit of controversy. There are critics who feel that the $3 billion is mainly going to be driven by politics and that the government is going to determine what actually happens with the money.
Other critics are also questioning how exactly Texas is going to find the money to fund the research for a cancer cure. The money isn’t already in the bank, and is going to be made in payments over the span of ten years. Of course, it is important for us to remember that a lot can happen in ten years in terms of the economy. Whether or not Texas will be financially stable enough to contribute the $3 billion that it is promising cannot easily be determined.
The most that we can do is hope for the best. It seems unrealistic that the cure for cancer is going to be found right away. Even ten years seems to be pushing it quite a bit. In fact, it has already been said that there will not be any drugs released from this research within the first two or even four years. This shows that it is understood that a cure for cancer is not something that is going to be found right away. It will take time.
The Associated Press reports that Texas state Governor Rick Perry said that he has a dreamed of a day “we talk about cancer the same way we talk about polio.” Most of us can agree with this dream, as most people know at least someone who has been affected by cancer in some way.
