Congress should follow Rep. Neal Dunn's lead on cancer screening act | Opinion

When a family member, a friend or a colleague is diagnosed with cancer, “wait and see” is not an option. Medical providers, caretakers and loved ones do everything we can to fight.

Thanks to advances in cancer screening technology, we now have the opportunity to shift our fight to one that will give patients a better chance of survival. New multi-cancer early detection screening tools could be the paradigm shift we desperately need to finally win the war on cancer. 

The Sunshine State has the second-highest cancer burden in the nation. From 2016 to 2018, 132,614 Floridians died of cancer according to the Florida Department of Health. Based on projections from the American Cancer Society, more than 47,000 people in Florida will die of cancer this year alone. 

There is good news. If cancer is detected before it spreads, the five-year survival rate is around 90%. If the cancer is allowed to metastasize or spread throughout the body, only 20% of patients survive for five years or more after diagnosis. 

Multi-cancer early detection technologies are undergoing large-scale clinical trials throughout the United States. Some of them can detect dozens of deadly cancers with a high degree of accuracy through a non-invasive blood draw. This would be a game-changer. Today, we only have the ability to screen for five types of cancer out of the dozens that exist. 

Like any new technology, access is critical. Once these technologies are approved by the FDA, policymakers need to make sure those who are most at-risk for cancer, have access to them. Older Americans have disproportionately high cancer rates compared to other segments of the population, so Medicare access is a must. 

Under current law, FDA approval of these innovative technologies wouldn’t lead to immediate coverage. Instead, they could get caught up in bureaucratic red tape in a process that can take up to a decade or longer. 

Our elected officials in Washington have an opportunity to lead in the war on cancer by building off these exciting breakthroughs. Thankfully, Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D., (R-Panama City) has proved to be a legislative champion in the fight against cancer. We thank him for stepping up as a leader of the Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act with his colleagues. 

As a physician, Rep. Dunn understands the importance of early detection and is driving a bipartisan effort to proactively allow Medicare to cover multi-cancer early detection technologies as soon as the FDA says they are safe and effective. Congress has passed similar legislation to allow Medicare to cover other preventative cancer screenings for prostate and breast cancers. 

Along with more than 300 healthcare advocacy voices from throughout the country, my organization, the Oncology Managers of Florida, stands with Rep. Dunn and his partners in urging Congress to pass such vital legislation. 

We all know someone who has received a life-altering cancer diagnosis, and the impacts these diagnoses can have on friends and family. Ensuring seniors have access to these new detection tools will help improve early detection rates and ultimately save countless lives.

By following Rep. Dunn’s lead, Congress can deliver a policy solution that will help turn the tide in the war on cancer.

Michelle Flowers is the founder of the Oncology Managers of Florida.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing.

Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.

Never miss a story:  Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.