The Latest Cancer Policy Updates from Washington

The 340B Drug Pricing Program is meant to provide patients in need or patients in poorer areas with access to prescription drugs at significantly discounted prices. Is that what the program accomplishes currently? Join Rose Gerber and her guests Ted Okon and Nicolas Ferreyros on October 12, 2022 at 12 p.m. ET, for a discussion about this federal program gone awry.

On August 10, 2022, Lauren Chatalian, MSW, LCSW, and Rose Gerber explored the psychosocial impact of a cancer diagnosis on a patient, their family, and friends. Chatalian, the director of advocacy at CancerCare, shared ways to promote effective communication between parents/guardians and children of families impacted by cancer in a developmentally appropriate manner. The chat focused on navigating practical concerns families may experience throughout the cancer continuum, such as loss of income, new health restrictions, and more.

On July 13 at 12 p.m. ET, COA’s Director of Patient Advocacy and Education Rose Gerber spoke with Jill Pollander, RN, MSN, the vice president of patient services at the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). NORD conducts research into lesser known and new diseases, including cancer, to help physicians and patients achieve better outcomes. Additionally, NORD helps patients access the necessary care and treatment for their rare diagnoses, ensuring that these patients receive care no matter where they are. Currently, NORD assists almost 10,000 patients with treatment for their rare diseases.

On June 8, 2022, Judy Pearson, a triple negative breast cancer survivor, founder and executive director of A 2nd Act, and author of From Shadows to Life: A Biography of the Cancer Survivorship Movement, joined Rose Gerber to share her insight on the history and current state of cancer survivorship. The cancer survivorship movement began in 1986. Prior to the 1970s, only 50 percent of those diagnosed with cancer survived their disease. And because of the fear that cancer was contagious, survivors lived as pariahs and often faced employment discrimination. Through persistent advocacy from patients, survivors, and physicians, cancer survivors came to be seen as normal, healthy citizens.

May is National Clinical Trials Month. During this month’s CPAN Advocacy Chat, Rose Gerber, COA's Director of Patient Advocacy and Education, was joined by Dinesh Kapur, MD, a medical oncologist, Director of Clinical Research at Eastern Connecticut Hematology and Oncology Associates, and the physician lead for OneCouncil, an initiative of OneOncology (a coalition of community oncology cancer centers).