KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas Cancer Center has been designated as a National Cancer Institute facility, opening the door for millions of dollars in federal grant money and the ability to offer patients cutting-edge experimental treatments.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and a number of Kansas lawmakers were on hand Thursday afternoon for the announcement at the Robert E. Hemenway Life Sciences Innovation Center in Kansas City, Kan.
The award came a decade after University of Kansas officials first declared obtaining the prestigious NCI status to be one of the cancer center's goals.
In addition to new research funds, the NCI designation makes it easier for cancer patients in Kansas to get treatments they previously had to travel to Texas or Minnesota to receive.
