Puerto Rico Steps Up Cancer Fight

Above: Gov. Luis Fortuño

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño has announced the allocation of $500,000 to help fund the Dr Isaac Gonzalez Martinez cancer hospital.

According to Fortuño, the assignment was made possible thanks to the adoption and signing of an agreement between the boards of directors of the Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the Puerto Rican League Against Cancer.

“With the approval and signing of the agreement by the board of directors, and the full support of the legislature, with the approval of this joint resolution, we are now in a position to fulfill our commitment to allocate the necessary funds to assist in the administration and operation of the hospital,” Fortuño said.

The agreement enters into force on July 1, the governor said, although he said he the government was ensuring that employees received their salaries.

“My commitment to the cancer centre and the commitment of the speaker of the House of Representatives is intense,” he said. “We will continue working for the good of patients in the hospital and we will not leave them alone in the fight against cancer.”

Martinez was one of Puerto Rico’s pioneers in the fight against cancer.