A senator who lost his wife to pancreatic cancer asks the state for $ 15 million for the UNMC | Health



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Senator Mark Kolterman hopes the state will allocate $ 15 million and private donors an additional $ 15 million to fight the illness that killed his wife.

Suzanne Kolterman died in November 2017 from pancreatic cancer, a disease that quickly invaded her. At the time of diagnosis, her cancer was advanced and she had only 18 months to live.

The senator said that his bill, which was heard on Tuesday by the appropriations committee, did not concern him. He has already endured the death of his wife and there is no return possible.

But Seward's Kolterman would like the University of Nebraska Medical Center to receive a large sum of money for pancreatic cancer research so that the disease can be diagnosed sooner and eventually healed. This money would strengthen a program already known at the national level for pancreatic cancer research.

The committee hearing showed that Kolterman's proposal was concurrent. At least three other programs solicited funds from the state fund Tuesday, and more than 20 of them withdraw at least $ 61 million this year. Committee members said they would be cautious in using this fund. Lincoln's state senator Anna Wishart asked Kolterman if there were other sources of money for his concept.

"I know it's a big request," said Kolterman about his request. "I appreciate the fact that we are dealing with limited funds."

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The UNMC is one of the National Cancer Institute's three research excellence programs (SPORE) specializing in pancreatic cancer. The other two are Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Washington University in St. Louis.

Kolterman's bill, Bill 669, would take $ 15 million out of the state health fund. The CNUL should raise $ 15 million in return before receiving state funds.

The National Cancer Institute states that SPORE programs "must demonstrate a high degree of collaboration between leading scientists and clinicians" and demonstrate excellence in translational research, which allows a project to move from the laboratory to the next. the patient's clinic.

The UNMC is working on treatments, early detection and other elements in the fight against pancreatic cancer. The American Cancer Society has stated that the five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer from 2008 to 2014 was the lowest – 9% – of all the cancers listed.

The company estimated that 270 Nebraskans and 480 Yuan died of pancreatic cancer this year. Nationally, the estimate is 45,750.

UNMC is in the process of concluding a $ 11.5 million five-year grant for pancreatic cancer research as part of the federal SPORE initiative.

"We are known nationally for being a center" for pancreatic cancer research, said Michael "Tony" Hollingsworth, professor and scientist specializing in pancreatic diseases at UNMC.

Among those who expressed Tuesday their support for Kolterman's proposal, there was Shirley Young, whose husband, Jim (CEO of Union Pacific), died of pancreatic cancer in 2014; Chancellor of the UNMC, Jeffrey Gold, whose father, Arthur, died of the disease in 2012; and James Armitage, the UNMC oncologist, whose wife, Nancy, passed away in 2017.

"I really think it is an opportunity to do something important," said Armitage during an interview.

Former US Senator Bob Kerrey also testified in favor of Kolterman's proposal.

Kolterman said he hoped the UNMC would optimize its strength in pancreatic cancer research. "The fact is we have a jewel in our garden here in Nebraska," Kolterman said earlier this week.

He added that doctors and UNMC staff members were caring for his wife and that she was living much longer than the Mayo Clinic had suggested.

"We had a wonderful 18 months," he said. The Koltermans took three grandchildren to Hawaii in August 2017.

"She promised to take them there and she kept her promise," he said.

While his grandchildren called him grandfather, their unusual name meant their grandmother. He fondly recalled that they had just called him Kolterman.

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