'I’m Still Here': California Patients Share Why They’re Voting YES on Proposition 38

In a new series of opinion editorials, patients and families describe how medical research is bringing hope and why Californians should vote YES on Prop 38

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Across California, patients and their loved ones are stepping forward to share how medical research gave them more time with the people they love, and why they’re voting YES on Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative.

From cancer survivors celebrating years in remission to people living with ALS, they’re telling their stories in opinion editorials in newspapers across the state and at YESon38.com. Their message is the same: medical research saves lives and we need Prop 38.

Dr. Christopher Campos, a neurologist and assistant professor at UC Davis Health, recently shared his story with Capitol Weekly. During his career as a neurologist, he was trained to recognize diseases like Parkinson’s, dementia and ALS. Then in 2023, he started losing strength in one hand, then the other. He knew what was happening before any test could confirm it: he would now be living with ALS, a disease of the nerves that control the muscles that allow us to move, talk, swallow and breathe.

“Federal funding cuts have disrupted life-saving research,” said Dr. Christopher Campos. “People living with ALS and other incurable diseases don’t have the luxury of waiting. California needs to commit to this work now, at a scale that matches its urgency. From my perspective on both sides of the exam room, my answer is the same: Vote yes on Prop 38.”


Andrew Dale, a cancer survivor and immunotherapy patient, shared his story with the Santa Monica Daily Press that his life changed in 2015 when doctors discovered a mass in his abdomen and diagnosed him with lymphoma. While his physicians initially reassured him that lymphoma was considered a highly treatable cancer, the road to recovery proved far more difficult. Andrew endured grueling chemotherapy treatments that left him severely weakened and caused multiple complications, forcing him and his medical team to explore other options.

“I was genuinely confused when my doctor told me, ‘Great news, it's lymphoma!’ How was that great news?” said Andrew Dale. “I later learned that because of medical research conducted years before my diagnosis, new treatment options were now available. Immunotherapy saved my life, and my cancer has been in remission for a decade.”



Ruben Narvaez, a kidney cancer and immunotherapy patient, shared his story with La Opinión, explaining that following a terminal stage IV kidney cancer diagnosis, he was treated with immunotherapy that has extended his life by eight years, and counting. Those years have allowed him to enjoy more birthdays, holidays, trips, and everyday moments with his family, time he once believed cancer would take away.

“Today, eight years later, I’m still here: not just surviving, but thriving,” said Ruben Narvaez. “I’m living evidence that medical breakthroughs can change what it means to receive a diagnosis. My support for Proposition 38 is also about my children and grandchildren. Research has to begin before they need it.”



ABOUT PROP 38
Prop 38 will provide $8.4 billion to accelerate immunology research to help cure and prevent cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and other persistent diseases. Immunotherapies harness the body's own immune system to prevent and treat diseases, and they are already successfully treating patients with melanoma, lung cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.

Prop 38 will fund the next generation of this research for other devastating diseases, like Parkinson’s, diabetes, ALS, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.

The timing is urgent. Cuts to federal research funding are shutting down clinical trials and delaying discoveries at the exact moment immunology science has gained momentum. At least 160 active clinical trials nationwide have been affected by the termination of National Institutes of Health grants in 2025. In California, universities began curtailing biomedical research and delaying hiring as federal grants were terminated or withheld.

Prop 38 is designed to pay for itself. Ten percent of all proceeds from the licensing of immunotherapies developed under Prop 38 must be returned to California to offset the measure's total costs, including interest. Additionally, any cure or immunotherapy developed will be provided to California patients at a 20 percent discount below the national average. Prop 38 also includes strict accountability requirements, including:
- Two percent cap on state administrative expenses
- Public disclosure of spending
- Independent financial audits
For-profit corporations are not eligible for grant funding

Prop 38 is supported by a broad coalition of nearly 100 patient advocacy, medical, and research organizations urging Californians to vote YES on Prop 38 in the upcoming election.

Learn more at YESon38.com, including a coalition list and what supporters are saying.

Ad paid for by YES on 38: Californians for Life-Saving Immunology Research and Cures, sponsored by the Michelson Center for Public Policy. Ad Committee’s Top Funders:
Gary K. Michelson
Michelson Center for Public Policy, Inc.
Meyer Luskin
Funding Details at www.fppc.ca.gov

Robin Swanson
YES on Prop 38
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