Standardize approach to cancer

There’s good news and bad news lately in the fight against cancer. The good news is that cancer deaths are steadily declining due to advances in research coupled with improvements in prevention, early detection and treatment. Unlike 30 or even 20 years ago, the diagnosis of cancer is not the automatic death sentence that it once was. The bad news is that troubling health disparities still persist and many patients are not afforded access to basic healthcare, let alone the type of comprehensive cancer care planning that has been so effective in improving the lives of cancer patients. As we realize progress in our fight against cancer and it becomes less often a terminal illness and more often a chronic disease, we need to better equip our healthcare infrastructure to respond to this new reality.

Comprehensive cancer care plans are the essential “guidebook” for anyone who receives a diagnosis of cancer. These written treatment summaries and survivorship plans better inform the patient, their loved ones and their healthcare providers about the plan of attack for each individual as they fight cancer. As the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded in its 2005 report “From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition,” cancer patients fare best when they have a coordinated follow-up plan to address their unique post-treatment needs and guidelines to assist them through the next stage of their life.

Every one of us has been touched by cancer, whether it was one’s own diagnosis or that of a loved one. We know how scary those words are when you first hear them and the obvious question of “What comes next?” The cancer community has come together to endorse comprehensive care planning as the best way to answer this question and assure properly coordinated care for cancer survivors. It gives patients the tools they need to plan for their immediate treatment, symptom management, risks for future occurrences and the comfort of knowing that the whole process has been carefully documented so that regardless of where you go, your information is readily available to you and your healthcare providers.

Unfortunately, despite the effectiveness of in-depth written cancer care plans, too few patients are receiving them. Currently there is no mechanism for the federal government to encourage and support use of cancer care plans, such as having Medicare reimburse oncologists who take the extra time and care to develop comprehensive treatment summaries. That’s why I introduced H.R. 1078, the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act, with my colleague Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.). H.R. 1078 will establish such a reimbursement mechanism and also strengthen our ability to address symptom management and palliative care through research grants and pilot programs. The goal of H.R. 1078 is to improve our ability to enhance the quality of life for cancer survivors. In a relatively short amount of time we have gained tremendous support for our bill, with over 100 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and the introduction of companion legislation by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La).

Just as cancer research, prevention and early detection have made the transition into the 21st century, Congress needs to keep pace so that cutting-edge cancer treatment can be accessed by all Americans regardless of gender, race or economic status. Standardizing comprehensive cancer care planning will enable us to reach this goal and improve cancer survivorship for all.

Capps is vice-chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, and co-chairwoman of the House Cancer Caucus. She spent 20 years working as a public health nurse in Santa Barbara public schools.