Letter: Don't cut Suffolk cancer awareness

The Suffolk County Legislature recently approved spending cuts that merged the Department of Environment and Energy with the Department of Planning ["Bellone urged to save jobs," News, Nov. 30]. While governments across the globe are being forced to reduce spending to make ends meet, it must be recognized that some cuts will actually end up costing taxpayers more.

This is certainly the case with the merger, which results in the loss of the Office of Cancer Awareness and Environmental Assessment and the Cancer Awareness Task Force. The task force is an initiative that brought together more than 35 community groups, each contributing time and energy to serve the public at no cost, to teach about prevention and care of cancer. The task force worked with the support of the staff at OCAEA.

The cost savings from losing the staff in the OCAEA is $43,000. This might seem like a fair amount, until you look at the accomplishments and resources leveraged by this office.

When you consider that the National Cancer Institute has stated that up to 75 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying diet and lifestyle, you start to understand the important, lifesaving role of these Suffolk County services, which provide ongoing, effective, science-based information and education on multiple aspects of cancer prevention.

Bob DiBenedetto, Huntington

Editor's note: The writer is the co-chairman of the Prevention and Education Committee of the Suffolk County Cancer Awareness Task Force.