DeSantis family's Valentine's Day gift to Florida: Waging a fight against cancer

Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis, a cancer survivor, dedicated this year's Valentine’s Day to the advancement of cancer research.

The First Couple hosted a roundtable discussion at the governor’s mansion that included experts from Florida Cancer Connect, a centralized cancer treatment resource hub for caregivers and patients that was created last year.

Mrs. DeSantis was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and talked about fighting it in a household where the governor was caretaker-in-chief for her and their three young children. The governor had earlier quipped he was “just window dressing” at the event.

“We are at war with cancer,” she said, noting that it seems more and more people are being diagnosed.

From 2021: Casey DeSantis' cancer journey will include balancing the private and public, survivors say

At the same time, she said she has “the opportunity ... for the next three years to get people far smarter than me into a room to be able to make a difference."

Being Florida's first lady has taught her "you've got to get into the arena. You got to fight,” Mrs. DeSantis added.

Last year, Florida became the first state to start collecting and assessing cancer recurrence data. The hope is the information will reveal and bring to light more innovative treatment. The governor included more than $232 million for cancer research in his budget proposal now before the Florida Legislature.

Lawmakers will finalize a state budget for 2024-25 before the end of the ongoing session, slated to end March 8.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @CallTallahassee

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 'You've got to fight': Casey and Ron DeSantis commit to war on cancer