SACRAMENTO, CA – Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) has introduced Senate Bill 344, which will support cancer research and advance the quality of care for cancer patients by improving the effectiveness of the California Cancer Registry, the statewide cancer surveillance system.  

“Cancer is a disease that impacts all of us – and there is still much more we can do to strengthen cancer research,” said Senator Susan Rubio. “Since I was first elected to the California State Senate, I have worked hard to improve the quality of care for cancer patients and expand resources for cancer research and treatment, including authoring the Cancer Patients Bill of Rights in 2021 and the California Childhood Cancer Research Fund Act in 2022. Senate Bill 344 will expand treatment equity for families impacted by cancer, ensuring our brightest minds can effectively use data collected by the State of California to develop innovative cancer treatments.”

“The California Cancer Registry is vital to advance our vision of ending cancer as we know it, for everyone,” said Autumn J. Ogden-Smith, California Legislative Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “The registry’s vast data allows researchers to identify disparities in cancer incidence, diagnoses and outcomes, and informs policymakers, as well as the public, on how to better address the gaps in cancer prevention and care. Additionally, with appropriate, ongoing funding, the registry could provide real-time data, facilitating researchers’ access to potential participants, including those from underrepresented communities. Clinical trials often provide the best, and sometimes only, treatment option for patients with life-threatening diseases like cancer.”

“The Public Health Institute applauds Senator Rubio for championing this vital legislation, which protects the California Cancer Registry and California’s regional cancer registries, and strengthens and improves data sharing and reporting,” said Matthew Marsom, Senior Vice President at the Public Health Institute. “SB 344 will ensure that we have the accurate, comprehensive, demographically diverse, and up-to-date surveillance data that serves as the foundation for cancer research – which means more, and more targeted, life-saving cancer trials, treatments, and prevention.”

“We are thankful to California voters whose support for cancer control and research led to the passage of the state’s cancer reporting law that established the California Cancer Registry, the largest population-based cancer registry in the U.S. providing high quality cancer surveillance data representing our state’s diverse populations,” said Lihua Liu, PHD, Director and Principal Investigator at the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program. “We are proud of our state legislators who have demonstrated consistent, strong, and bi-partisan support over the years for passing legislative changes to enhance the registry and benefit cancer surveillance and control in California.”

Senator Susan Rubio represents Senate District 22. For more information, visit https://sd22.senate.ca.gov/