Board approves $50 million for cancer institute construction

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003 | 9:43 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Board of Finance on Wednesday approved issuing up to $50 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to help build the Nevada Cancer Institute in Clark County.

The $50 million will be backed by a letter of credit from a syndicate of banks, so it won't cost Nevada taxpayers any money, Heather Murren, president of the institute, said.

It will mark a needed investment in saving Nevadans' lives, she said. Too often cancer patients have to leave Nevada for advanced technology treatment and to receive specialized drugs, Murren said.

The institute will not have beds for cancer patients but it will provide "outpatient treatment in conjunction with research," she said.

Assembly woman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas, a cancer survivor, said any help is needed in view of the statistics from the National Cancer Institute showing Nevada has the fourth-highest cancer death rate for women in 2002 while the cancer death rate for men ranked 28th in the nation.

Work is to begin in December at the corner of the Las Vegas Beltway and Town Center Drive in Summerlin on property donated by the Howard Hughes Corp.

The nonprofit institute, which has raised about $16 million in pledges and donations, should open there in late 2004 or early 2005, Murren said. It is also eligible for federal funds.

The sooner the better since this year, the National Cancer Institute predicts some 10,300 people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in Nevada.

The American Cancer Society estimated the average annual age-adjusted rate for cancer deaths per 100,000 persons in Nevada in 2002 was 219.9 compared to the national average of 206. That puts Nevada 12th among the states, said the society.

The institute will focus its research on tobacco-related cancers, the most prevalent cancer diagnosed in the state. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1,300 Nevadans died of lung cancer last year.

The institute will be teamed up with the University of Nevada School of Medicine and the hospitals in Clark County, which have been "good partners," she said.