Primary care physicians are the front line of cancer prevention and detection. Almost every cancer patient's initial visit is with his or her physician. The ability of physicians to properly diagnose their patients' symptoms and conduct the appropriate cancer screenings saves lives. Training primary care physicians on the latest scientific advances in all areas of cancer detection, screening, and prevention is essential for patients. This is especially true today, as we learn more about different types of cancer, and greater technological advances are made to detect and treat each cancer.
For more than 20 years, the Texas Medical Association's Physician Oncology Education Program (POEP) has provided physicians and medical students with the most current resources for detecting cancer at its earliest stage and helping patients prevent cancer. TMA strongly supported the passage of Proposition 15, which created the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and invests in cancer research, prevention, and treatment in Texas.
Medicine's 2009 Agenda
- Ensure 10 percent of the $300 million made available through the passage of Proposition 15 is allocated to front-line physicians for cancer prevention and detection programs.
- Proposition 15 funding should be used to increase awareness of and access to cancer-prevention services, and to promote programs aimed at reducing tobacco use and cancer risks related to obesity.
- Funding invested in cancer prevention, detection, and screening in Texas is crucial to ensuring patients receive the best care possible.
- It is important that Prop 15 funding help enhance care for Texas patients and reduce the incidence of cancer in the state by educating physicians about the latest cancer treatments and technological advances.
2009 Legislative Briefs