Missouri woman living with breast cancer asks lawmakers to pass Cancer Patients’ Bill of Rights
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - One woman fed up with inadequate cancer treatment took matters into her own hands and approached Missouri lawmakers with a solution.
In Missouri, over 30,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year, according to the Missouri Cancer Registry and Research Center. But some say they do not receive adequate care. On Wednesday morning, a Missouri Senate committee heard a bill that would guarantee cancer wards are a patient-first environment.
Nicole Robinson is always fighting. She’s fighting for more information on the symptoms of her stage four metastatic breast cancer. She’s fighting to have her pain taken seriously. She’s fighting to take the medications and treatments that she wants instead of what her insurance wants.
“I have to battle with insurance companies to pay for your treatment or the right treatment,” Robinson said.
That’s why she approached Democratic St. Louis Sen. Angela Mosley about writing a Cancer Patients’ Bill of Rights. It would ensure patients have the right to clear explanations in their language, shorter waits for test results and appointments with specialists, and access to clinical trials at request, and much more. Insurance companies would be expected to burden any costs associated with this bill.
“Cancer patients in Missouri deserve clear information available, timely care and access to the best treatment available,” Mosley said.
There was no opposition to the bill in a Senate Committee meeting Wednesday, but there were some cautious questions. Republican Sen. Joe Nicola from Kansas City said he’s not sure if the bill would truly address the problems cancer patients experience. He also asked Mosley if there is anything in the bill cancer patients cannot already do, she replied encouraging him to talk to cancer patients themselves about the quality of their care.
The bill could be voted out of committee as soon as next week. It would then need approval from the full Senate to move forward.
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