URI to receive federal funds to expand cancer prevention research center

Senator Jack Reed and Congressman Jim Langevin have announced that they have secured $665,000 in the FY 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill for construction of a new building at the University of Rhode Island’s Behavioral Change Cancer Prevention and Health Promotion Center. Currently, the Center’s site is unable to meet the significant need for research and treatment.


Reed stated, “The University of Rhode Island has built an innovative health promotion and disease prevention program that provides effective health care interventions that improve health and decrease health care costs. This funding will enable the University to continue to expand URI’s capacity to offer services that promote health and prevent disease and premature death.”


“As a leader in health behavior change research, the Cancer Center is ideally positioned to at least double its research and outreach projects, but it must double the current space, which is now filled to capacity, to meet this goal,” said Congressman Langevin. “Thanks to the coordinated effort of the entire Rhode Island delegation, the Center can help thousands more people struggling with cancer.”


Last year, the URI facility served 29,000 people, including 14,000 individuals from Rhode Island, 5,000 regionally and 10,000 nationally. The need for the Center’s services far exceeds those figures since Rhode Island has one of the highest cancer morbidity rates in the country. An expanded facility could double the number of patients served.


The Cancer Prevention Research Center at URI enhances the quality of life for all New Englanders through the prevention of cancer, chronic diseases and premature death. The Center develops better solutions to the most common causes of death and other ailments, including: smoking, substance abuse, high-risk sex, unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles.


The behavioral change approach to health employed by URI is recognized internationally as one of the most promising avenues for promoting better health. The Center creates proactive and interactive interventions for populations at all stages of change.


“This funding will ensure that Rhode Island and the nation as a whole benefit from critical research and outreach into cancer prevention,” said Congressman Langevin. “I am pleased the Committee has approved this request as cancer accounts for one-quarter of all deaths in the state of Rhode Island – a state that consistently ranks as one of the highest in cancer morbidity and mortality.”