Help Patients Access Life-Saving Therapies: Share Your Story!

Dear

In advocacy, the most effective way to get a legislator's attention is to share with them the real life experiences of people living in their community. Your stories are an important way to make your voice heard, and to impress upon your legislator the importance of policies that affect you, your family, and your community.

One such issue is the way that health insurers currently charge patients for chemotherapy that is taken in pill form (otherwise known as oral chemotherapy) vs. chemotherapy that is injected in a clinic setting (otherwise known as intravenous chemotherapy). It can be much more expensive to take a cancer drug in pill form rather than through an IV. The Cancer Support Community, along with many other organizations who are working for equality in access to health care, is working to support legislation to ensure that patients can access their chemotherapy in pill form for the same cost as that of the IV form.

Are you concerned with the high cost of orally administered anti-cancer drugs? If you or a loved one have health insurance that includes a prescription drug plan, are currently taking a cancer drug that comes in pill form, and are paying more than $100 per month to fill the prescription, we need your help!

We are looking for stories of patients whose monthly out-of-pocket expense for oral cancer drugs is creating financial barriers to receiving those treatments. We'd like to hear from providers as well as patients-oncologists, oncology nurses and others-who are on the frontlines with patients and working with insurance companies to gain access to life-saving therapies.

Please contact Shelby Berger at sberger@cancersupportcommunity.org to share your story and make a difference in this important project. 

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Franklin
​Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy
​Cancer Support Community