By Nicole Watters / For The Herald
The most powerful weapon in fighting cancer is time.
Having time on one’s side is often what makes all the difference for people battling cancer. My daughter Lucy’s journey with a rare pediatric cancer taught our family this difficult truth. Her story illustrates why our elected leaders must act urgently to support breakthrough cancer detection technology that can catch cancer earlier, giving patients more time to beat it.
Lucy — a sweet, spunky kid who loved dancing and glitter — was born in 2011. We noticed early on that she kept getting sick, but never truly got better. Instead of healing, her symptoms would progressively worsen. As concerned parents, we were insistent on in-depth testing but were routinely dismissed by doctors who saw Lucy’s symptoms as nothing more than common colds.
Finally, health care professionals investigated more thoroughly when she arrived at the hospital with a temperature of 103 degrees. Lucy was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks after her third birthday.
What followed was a six-year battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a particularly difficult form of leukemia to cure. Lucy underwent chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and eventually a T-cell therapy trial. Despite access to world-class care facilities in the Pacific Northwest — a luxury not every family experiences — Lucy ultimately ran out of treatment options. On June 8, 2020, our brave, energetic little girl passed away.
One in every 300 children is diagnosed with pediatric cancer. With more than 200 different subtypes, each child diagnosed with a pediatric cancer is essentially a rare disease patient. This fragmentation creates enormous challenges for research, diagnosis and treatment.
Lucy’s diagnostic journey highlights the current flaws in our health care system. The lengthy process to get an accurate diagnosis cost valuable time; time that could have been spent fighting her cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage.
For many families, delayed diagnosis remains one of the most devastating aspects of their cancer journey. While it may be too late for Lucy, there are innovations today that can expedite the diagnostic process for countless families searching for timely, accurate diagnoses. Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests represent a revolution in cancer screening; a breakthrough technology that can detect dozens of different cancers by searching for telltale signs within a person’s bloodstream. All that’s needed is a simple blood draw. While it is not intended for the pediatric population, childhood cancer survivors find themselves at a much higher risk for reoccurrence or secondary occurrence later on in life. Early detection is key.
The Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act in Congress presents a pivotal advancement in our nation’s approach to cancer care. This legislation would ensure Medicare beneficiaries have access to MCED tests, setting an important precedent for broader adoption.
The MCED Act has already garnered unprecedented bipartisan support. Washington’s own Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, along with Reps. Adam Smith, Marilyn Strickland, Rick Larsen, Michael Baumgartner and Suzan DelBene, have supported the bill. As lawmakers work together in the coming months, they have a critical opportunity to ensure this legislation becomes law.
To our Washington state federal delegation: The time to act is now. By passing this legislation, you can help save countless lives and continue to invest in life-saving cancer detection innovations that will benefit childhood cancer survivors and so many more.
Lucy enthusiastically said “yes” to every possible opportunity for cancer treatment. It’s time for you all to do the same.
Nicole Watters is the mother of Lucy and a childhood cancer advocate. She lives in Seattle.
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