Prop 15

And here's something that was sent to me by my brother-in-arms, Larry Lee Thweatt, who lives down in Houston with his wife, Sarah, and three boys, Jacob, Henry, and John. As I've mentioned before, Lee's youngest son, John, is battling cancer (neuroblastoma). My own mother, the Karebear, is a breast cancer survivor, my grandmother had cancer as well, and my good friend Liz passed away a little over 6 months ago from cancer, so I guess it's fair to say that both the Steans family and the Thweatt family not only take this whole fight against cancer business seriously, but we take it personally.

Here's the bulk of Lee's email:

"Here's a partisan plug from me for support of Proposition 15, which would infuse $3 billion over the next ten years into cancer research and prevention by creating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The amendment has bipartisan sponsorship in the Texas House and Senate, and Governor Perry is supporting the measure, as well. The President of MD Anderson supports the initiative. Privately, the measure has support from the American Cancer Society, The Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For reasons that defy understanding, here in Houston, the Harris County GOP announced this week that they oppose the measure. As you make your own decision on election day, consider these findings from the Texas Cancer Council: CANCER FACTS• There are more than 100 distinct types of cancer• More than 77,000 Texans develop cancer each year• More than 35,000 Texans die each year of cancer• Cancer is the #2 killer of Texans, accounting for one of every four deaths• Cancer is the leading cause of death for Texas women ages 35-74• Cancer is the second-leading cause of death for Texas men ages 45-74 A report titled The Cost of Cancer in Texas: A Report to the Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition on the Economic Impact of Cancer by The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Health Care Information Council found that the total estimated direct medical costs due to cancer in 1998 were $4.9 billion, and indirect costs from lost productivity were $9.1 billion – for a total of about $14.0 billion attributable to cancer in Texas that year. That means that since 1998, Texas has lost somewhere around $140 billion in lost productivity from cancer. More importantly, since 1998, we've lost fellow Texans, family and friends equivalent to that of the entire population of Lubbock. That can change. Truly, it can. Proposition 15 provides for the establishment of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds for the purpose of scientific research of all forms of human cancer. This measure makes sense economically, socially, and morally. Yes, it will be expensive. What will be far more expensive, in terms of both dollars and lives, is doing nothing, or even, less than we can. Should we spend $3 billion over the course of the next decade to try and save $140 billion and prevent the loss of another 350,000 lives? How can we not? This matters. With all of the force of character you can summon, vote. VOTE. Make sure your friends and family vote, as well. Support Proposition 15 on election day."

Early voting starts October 22nd and runs through November 6th. Get out there and vote for Prop 15, Adventurers!