Moffitt Cancer Center patients and caregivers are joining forces today to make sure the facility continues to receive state support.
- Moffitt Cancer Center patients, caregivers lobby Tallahassee
- Group to meet with lawmakers, discuss continued funding
- Moffitt Day 2017
They boarded a bus early Tuesday as part of a contingent going to Tallahassee to lobby for continued funding. It's all part of the 12th annual Moffitt Day in Tallahassee.
Each year, Moffitt researchers, physicians, patients, volunteers and advocates go to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers and share their experiences. The idea is to let lawmakers know how important the funding is to Moffitt and the cancer patients it serves.
"My experience at Moffitt started in the year 2007 in August when I found out I had stage 4 at the base of my tongue," said Moffitt patient Ken Susalla. "It started out with 35 radiation treatments, 2 chemos, or 3, but I only had to do 2, and a year of hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."
Instead of taking the diagnosis as a death sentence, Susalla said he and his entire treatment team mapped out a plan to fight the disease.
The treatment saved Susalla's life and now he says he wants to do his part to make sure Moffitt continues its healing mission.
Todd Knepper, a personalized cancer medicine fellow at Moffitt, also made the trek to the Capitol.
"The support allows Moffitt to recruit and train world class clinicians and world class researchers and I see that every day," Knepper said. "The relationship between the clinical side and the research side come together to bring the most advanced cancer care to our patients."
More than 50 volunteers are making the day-long trip to Tallahassee today.
"We've been through it and we know what it takes to fight for your life," Susalla said. "That helps them understand (lawmakers) what to do and help fund Moffitt for research."