A cancer diagnosis often comes as a shock to most people. For many, the first question that comes to mind is “Am I going to die?” The second is often, “Who will help support my family while I receive treatment?”
Putting patients’ minds at ease, so they can concentrate on treatment, has become my life’s calling. After spending years working to fit patients for wigs and prosthetics, in the summer of 2020, I co-founded an organization dedicated to helping outfit people regardless of their financial means. Since then, our organization has evolved into a foundation dedicated to assisting cancer patients with a broad range of financial, medical and psychological support.
Every day, I am humbled and inspired by the bravery of the patients I work with in confronting their disease. Few will understand the daily challenges they live with.
But we all understand the toll cancer takes, not just on individuals, but on families and entire communities.
As pervasive an adversary it may be, cancer can be beaten. One of the strongest weapons we have is early detection. When caught early, the five-year survival rate for many cancers can approach 90%. The same cannot be said of those cancers that are caught at more advanced stages. Traditionally, our early screening arsenal has been limited to tests like mammograms and colonoscopies, each targeting a single type of cancer. These tests are an invaluable part of our cancer defense, yet many cancers remain undetected until it’s too late. As many as seven in 10 of the cancers killing our friends, families and loved ones lack a commonly available screening. It’s evident that we need a much wider testing net — as well as a way to get new screening technologies to patients in a timely manner.
I was delighted to learn that our representatives in Washington, D.C. are prioritizing a solution. Led by our own Rep. Richard Hudson, and nearly every member of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Screening Coverage Act (HR. 2407/ S.2085) has reached broad bipartisan support in Congress. The bill will ensure timely Medicare coverage of groundbreaking new multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests.
The innovation of MCEDs heralds a new era in cancer screening. With just a blood draw, MCED tests have the potential to detect dozens of types of cancer early. The widespread adoption of these tests will have tremendous benefits for people at risk of cancer – particularly those living in rural areas. This is important because as a recent study indicates, rural areas bear a disproportionately heavy cancer burden compared to their urban counterparts. For North Carolina, which boasts the second-largest rural population in the nation, the implications are clear: MCEDs will save lives and transform cancer care.
Yet, while we’re on the cusp of a pivotal shift in how we detect and diagnose cancer, access to these tests will be hindered by Medicare’s outdated coverage policies. There is currently no clear process for Medicare to cover new preventative services in a timely fashion. So, breakthrough technologies like MCED — even after they’ve been approved by the FDA — are expected to languish in regulatory limbo for years before North Carolinians in greatest need are able to access them — unless Congress acts.
The bipartisan bill our lawmakers are supporting will break down these barriers and allow Medicare to cover these tests without unnecessary delay. With a majority of both Congressional chambers in support as co-sponsors, the bill stands as a testament to bipartisan commitment to turning the tide in our fight against cancer.
We’re at a fork in the road. We can either continue with the status quo, where countless people die prematurely because their cancer wasn’t caught early enough. Or we could head towards a new future where few cancers reach that latest, deadliest stage.
Throughout my career, I’ve met far too many people for whom it was too late. It shouldn’t have to be this way.
I’d like to extend my sincerest thanks to Representative Hudson and all those Members of Congress who have supported the bill thus far. As we enter a new year, I urge lawmakers to unite to push this bill across the finish line, ensuring that 2024 marks the beginning of a new chapter in our fight against cancer.
Shanese Spaulding is vice president of the Carolina Cancer Foundation.