Breast cancer strikes more than 25,000 Californians Every Year
February 1, 2006—Oakland, CA—In just this year alone, the disease will kill over 4,000 Californians—roughly 11 women and 1 man will die every day. Taxpayers can help efforts to eradicate the disease by contributing to the California Breast Cancer Research Fund on State income tax form 540, line 57. In return for a tax break—line 57 contributions are automatically tax deductible for the following year—California researchers get much-needed funds to pursue new approaches to preventing, treating, and curing breast cancer.
Monies from the California Breast Cancer Research Fund go directly to the California Breast Cancer Research Program, which is the largest state-funded breast cancer research program in the country. Since its inception in 1993, the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP), administered by the University of California, Office of the President, has awarded nearly $164 million in 672 grants to 73 California institutions to pursue important, scientific research to will unlock the mysteries of breast cancer and improve the lives of the people it touches. Taxpayer contributions are a vital part of this effort.
Line 57 contributions support unique studies, including investigations into
the links between environmental factors and the risk of developing breast
cancer, the development of agents to prevent breast cancer from natural products
like mushrooms, and learning how to live well after a breast cancer diagnosis.
For example, Dr. Stanley Rockson and his team at Stanford University are studying
lymphedema—the chronic, painful arm swelling and loss of mobility that
develops in up to 25 percent of breast cancer survivors—to understand
why it occurs and to see who is most at risk for this debilitating side effect
of breast cancer.
“While we’re making progress in prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment,” says
Marion Kavanaugh-Lynch, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the CBCRP, “We
still don’t know all the causes of breast cancer. Only sustained
effort, supported by public input, will put an end to this disease.”
More information about the California Breast Cancer Research Program can
be found online at www.CABreastCancer.org.
About the CBCRP
The mission of the California Breast Cancer Research Program is to eliminate
breast cancer by leading innovation in research, communication, and collaboration
in the California scientific and lay communities.
Created by the State Legislature in 1993, the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) is the largest state-funded breast cancer research program in the nation and is administered by the University of California, Office of the President. To date, the CBCRP has awarded 672 grants to 73 scientific institutions and community entities, totaling more than $164 million for research in California to prevent, treat, and cure breast cancer. Grants from the CBCRP fill gaps not traditionally funded by other research programs to jump-start new areas of investigation that push the boundaries of research and foster new collaborations. The CBCRP is funded through the voluntary tax check-off program on personal income tax form 540, a portion of the state tobacco tax, and individual contributions. For more information call 888 313-2277, or visit www.cbcrp.org.
