Massapequa advocate Christy Manso joined more than 600 cancer patients, survivors, volunteers and staff from all 50 states as they united in Washington, D.C., as part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Leadership Summit and Lobby Day.
Manso met with Jamie Tricarico, Legislative Director for Congressman Peter King, to discuss the need to support an increase in federal funding for cancer research and prevention. She also requested that Congressman King co-sponsor legislation that supports patients’ quality of life, and to support legislation that would close a loophole in Medicare that often results in surprise costs for seniors when a polyp is found during a routine colonoscopy.
“Congress has a critical role to play in the fight to defeat a disease that kills an estimated 500,000 people in America every year,” said Manso. “Congress can demonstrate a commitment to the fight against cancer by increasing federal funding for cancer research and prevention, co-sponsoring patient quality of life legislation and eliminating surprise costs for seniors getting colorectal cancer screenings,” she continued.
Specifically, Manso asked for support from Congressman King to help increase funding for cancer research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and for prevention programs at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), co-sponsor legislation to improve the quality of life of cancer patients with better access to palliative care, and to co-sponsor the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screenings Act.
Freezes and cuts in federal funding for NCI and the CDC in recent years have put continued progress in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer in jeopardy. Nearly half of all cancer deaths are preventable, but inadequate funding for groundbreaking research and critical screening programs could cost countless lives.
“One in two men and one in three women will hear the words ‘you have cancer’ in their lifetime,” said Manso. “We need a full and unwavering commitment from Congress to take action to help prevent and treat cancer.”
From the moment a person hears those three little words, they may deal with pain, stress, and other side effects. Patients can receive an extra layer of support, called “palliative care” that improves patients’ quality of life at any age and at any stage of illness. ACS CAN supports bipartisan legislation that would make palliative care more available to people who need it.
An estimated 150,000 people in America will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 50,000 people will die from the disease in this year alone. The new health care law waives co-pays for proven screenings for colorectal and other cancers, but Medicare patients can still get hit with a bill if a polyp is found during the procedure. By passing this legislation, Congress could help meet the goal of getting 80 percent of eligible Americans regularly screened for colorectal cancer by 2018.
“We want our lawmakers to know that volunteers from New York State, and from every state across the country, are counting on them to take a stand,” said Manso.
ACS CAN is the non-profit, non-partisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, which is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.
