By Laurie Fenton Ambrose, Special to The Desert Sun
May 26, 2023
Despite limited recent progress, a status quo in cancer casts a shadow over our community, claiming the lives of around 600,000 Americans each year, with one in every 10 of those in California alone. Cancer has remained an elusive – and ruthless – killer.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if doctors could detect the most aggressive cancers in earlier stages, when treatment is most effective? The development of such tools would mark a historic turning point in the decadeslong war against this deadly disease. We’re on the verge of achieving this. But it’s going to require a combination of breakthrough medical science and forward-thinking public policy to make a meaningful impact.
Some of the greatest minds in oncology and genetics have developed game-changing screening tests that will enable doctors to catch more cancers, including lung cancer, earlier before they have a chance to grow and spread. It’s been proven time and time again that the sooner lung cancer is found, the greater the person’s chance of beating the disease.
Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests have been shown to detect dozens of different cancers in large scale clinical trials. In addition, the tests can determine where in the body the cancer may be located. MCED tests can be administered almost anywhere because all that’s needed from the patient is a simple blood draw.
These screenings will transform our approach to cancer diagnosis by broadening the number of types of cancers that can be detected by screening. Right now, only five types of cancers have recommended screenings – breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate and high-risk lung – and these tests can detect only one type of cancer at a time. MCED tests can screen for dozens at once which will dramatically expand doctors’ arsenal of detection tools.
That’s why the recent work of Congressman Raul Ruiz, an emergency room physician and lawmaker, is very important. Congressman Ruiz, along with colleagues of his across the aisle, are sponsoring the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (H.R. 2407) – legislation that will enable Medicare to begin to cover MCED tests after they’ve been approved by Food and Drug Administration and shown to have clinical benefit.
People over the age of 65 have some of the greatest susceptibility to cancer so it is critical that access to these tests be prioritized for Medicare beneficiaries.
Without this legislation, it could be up to a decade or longer before Medicare covers these tests, because the laws governing Medicare do not allow the agency to cover preventive screenings as it does for new drug therapies or medical devices. In the past, Congress has stepped in to create a pathway for Medicare coverage of other cancer screenings. It’s time for lawmakers to do so again.
We don’t have to accept the toll cancer takes on our families, loved ones and communities. Science is providing us with the tools to shift the odds in our favor, so people can live longer, healthier lives. Congress needs to pass this bill to remove barriers for those most at-risk for all cancers – older Americans.
Laurie Fenton Ambrose is co-founder, president, and CEO of GO2 For Lung Cancer. Her email is info@go2.org