Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will be investing a record $100 million in funding for cancer research and care in the next budget.
DeSantis made the announcement at a news conference Tuesday at the University of Miami Health System.
The funding will go to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, UM's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the University of Florida's Shands Cancer Hospital in Gainesville, DeSantis said.
"This is a really historic day," DeSantis said. "It's a really, really big deal and we really have confidence in these institutions to be able to make good use of that money and do so in a way that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of the patients that they will be seeing."
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DeSantis said it represents a nearly 60% increase in funding to the cancer centers. the funding was in DeSantis' 2022-2023 budget that was approved by the Florida legislature.
Joining the governor for the announcement was his wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in October. She underwent surgery and received her final chemotherapy treatment in January, and announced in March that she was cancer-free.
"Florida is going to lead the way to find a definitive cure once and for all for all types of cancer," she said Tuesday.
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Since 2014, cancer has been second leading cause of death in Florida, after heart disease.
