In 2008 an estimated 40,000 North Carolinians will be diagnosed with cancer. This disease is the number one cause of death in our state and will claim more than 17,000 lives this year. North Carolina is swimming against a demographic tide of growth and aging that will bring 80,000 new cancer cases by 2050, despite continued improvements in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. By establishing the University Cancer Research Fund, North Carolina has taken a bold, nation-leading step forward toward improving the future health and well-being of its citizens. Research that creates new knowledge, turns that knowledge into advances in treatment, screening, and prevention, and then ensures delivery of those advances across the state-that research is the key that unlocks the doors to a new and better future. The Fund will make that research possible. As has often been the case, North Carolina was ahead of the national curve by creating the UCRF in July 2007. In November 2007, Texas passed a $3 billion bond referendum to provide $300 million annually to support cancer research over the next decade. In 2005, California passed a $3 billion bond referendum to support stem cell research. Perhaps noting the downturn in federal funding for biomedical research, other states are watching these states' investments to see if they improve their citizens' health and make researchers nationally competitive. We will rigorously evaluate the UCRF to show the nation that North Carolina has taken a bold and wise step. The North Carolina General Assembly and the people of North Carolina have presented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the North Carolina Cancer Hospital, and UNC Health Care with an astounding opportunity and responsibility. We embrace that opportunity and that responsibility and pledge ourselves to our shared vision of a better future for the citizens of North Carolina.