When the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network organized its annual citizen lobby day in Washington last month, more than 500 volunteers pushed members of Congress to keep cancer research and support for cancer patients at the top of the nation’s health care agenda.
It came as Democrats and Republicans in Washington headed toward a budget impasse over extending the enhanced subsidies that help millions of people maintain Affordable Care Act coverage.
But these volunteers transcended politics.
Mary Catherine Johnson is a retired small-business owner from outside Rochester, New York. She voted for Donald Trump three times.
Lexy Mealing, who used to work in a physician’s office, is from Long Island. She’s a Democrat.
But the two women share a bond: They both survived breast cancer.
“Not one person here discussed if you’re a Democrat, if you’re a Republican,” said Mealing, one of 27 volunteers from New York. “Cancer doesn’t care.”
Every volunteer had been touched in some way by cancer, which is expected to kill more than 600,000 people in the U.S. this year.
Johnson said each of her mother’s 10 siblings died from cancer. She said she’s worried about the state of politics today. “I think we’re probably the most divided that we’ve ever been,” she said. “That scares me. Scares me for my grandchildren.”
Americans are indeed split over many issues — immigration, guns, President Trump.
Yet in one recent survey, 7 in 10 voters said it’s very important for the federal government to fund medical research. That included majorities of Democrats and Republicans.
“Almost everybody in this country knows somebody who’s had cancer,” said Jarrett Lewis, a Republican pollster who conducted the survey for patient groups.
A recent KFF poll found that three-quarters of U.S. adults, including most Republicans who align with the Make America Great Again movement, want Congress to extend subsidies that help Americans buy health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
These subsidies, which are critical to people with chronic illnesses such as cancer, are a sticking point in the budget showdown in Congress.
The army of volunteers — from every state — hit 484 of the 535 Senate and House offices.
Not every visit was an unqualified victory. Many Republican lawmakers object to extending the insurance subsidies, arguing they’re too costly.
Lawmakers from both parties have backed increased research funding and support for more cancer screening.
When evening came, the volunteers met on the National Mall for a candlelight vigil.
John Manna, another New Yorker, is a self-described Reagan Republican whose father died from lung cancer. He reflected on lessons this day could offer a divided nation.
“Get to know each other as people,” he said, “and then you can understand somebody’s positions. We have little disagreements, but, you know, we don’t attack each other. We talk.”
‘Cancer Doesn’t Care’: Citizen Lobbyists Unite To Push Past Washington’s Ugly Politics
Despite a poisonous political climate, hundreds of volunteer advocates put partisan differences aside and pressed Congress to help people with cancer.
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