Dear Marylanders,
On the day that I found out I was cancer free, I pledged that as long as I was governor of this great state—and long after that—I would continue to stand with all those who are fighting this terrible disease.
We have been working hard to increase access to treatment and raise awareness, and just last week, I announced my Maryland Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which dramatically expands all of our efforts to detect, prevent, treat, and find a cure for cancer so that we can save more lives.
This week, we broke ground on the first part of our Maryland Cancer Moonshot—a new, best-in-class cancer center, and the first ever of its kind in Prince George’s County. We are investing $67 million to fully fund its construction, so that residents of Capitol Heights, Largo, Upper Marlboro, and all of Prince George’s County can receive the high-quality cancer treatment and medical care that they deserve.
In total, we are committing $216 million as a downpayment to jumpstart our far-reaching Maryland Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which also includes:
- Greenebaum Cancer Center: $100 million for the expansion of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center in downtown Baltimore to provide state-of-the-art inpatient and outpatient cancer services.
- Cancer Research: $25 million for the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University to accelerate cancer research projects.
- Pediatric Cancer Research: $1 million to support expanding pediatric cancer research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
- Stem Cell Research Fund: $20.5 million for the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund to catalyze investment in regenerative medicine projects to develop novel cures and groundbreaking treatments for prevalent cancers.
- Maryland Tech Council: $2.5 million for the BioHub Maryland Initiative to expand the state’s life sciences and biotechnology research workforce, with a focus on talent development, upskilling opportunities, and outreach to students in underserved communities.
This initiative is very near and dear to my heart. I know just how difficult it is to get that life-altering diagnosis, and to experience that feeling of not knowing what comes next.
With this game-changing Cancer Moonshot, we’re going to harness the power and the capacity of our world-class Maryland public health, education, and research facilities to produce the talent, the tools, and the treatments that will help us make decades worth of progress in just a matter of years, and make Maryland a powerhouse at the very forefront of the nation’s efforts to defeat this dreadful disease.
Sincerely,
