Cancer Action Day brings optimism to Beacon Hill

It's Cancer Action Day at the Statehouse today, bringing patients and volunteers together to advocate for improved cancer care. 22 News Statehouse reporter, Olivia Ray, attended the advocacy day and has a look at legislation supporters are backing. 1,000 Bay Staters will be diagnosed with cancer this year and 12,500 will die. Statistics the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network is looking to improve through two pending bills. One such bill would require insurance coverage of biomarker testing. This testing analyzes blood or tissue to look for specific genes, proteins, or other indicators of cancer. This information can help doctors catch cancer earlier, determine specific treatments, and directly leads to better outcomes for patients. Ludlow Senator Jake Olivera sponsors the legislation. He says much of the technology for biomarker detection is developed right here in the Bay State. So it not only helps our Massachusetts higher ed institutions, our medical schools, but it also can save people a lot of money over time and insurers over time, but also a lot of pain and suffering. Katie Torrance was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 53 in 2020. Torrance spoke at the Statehouse on Thursday, saying her survival is because of early detection. I shouldn't be a unicorn. I should be the norm. Every patient in Massachusetts deserves access to early detection. Advocates are also promoting a bill that increases timely access to patient navigation, services like financial assistance, transportation to appointments, and language translation to help patients better access oncology care. The biomarker bill and the patient navigation bill were sent to a dead-end study on the Senate side, but there's still chance of passage through the House or as a budget amendment. Working for you from the Statehouse in Boston, I'm Olivia Ray, 22 News.