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Nearly 10 million cancer screenings were missed during the COVID pandemic. Many experts worry that this will result in an excess number of cancers being diagnosed at more advanced stages, and ultimately in more deaths. To help address this, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden recently re-committed to boosting access to life-saving cancer screenings and treatment during his remarks recognizing National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

[Photo: First lady Jill Biden at the Mays Cancer Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio).]

The Bidens launched the Cancer Moonshot program in 2016 to accelerate scientific discovery in cancer, foster greater collaboration, and improve the sharing of cancer data. In February of this year, President Biden announced a re-ignition of the Cancer Moonshot, with a new goal: to reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and improve the lives of people with cancer. The first lady is highly vested in accelerating the screening programs leading to early detection. Four of her dear friends were diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, and she has been a leading proponent ever since.

I’d go one step further. Advanced diagnostics and early detection through genetic screening improve outcomes and give cancer patients a better chance at beating their disease, yet they remain largely out-of-reach for the most vulnerable patients. The barriers are vast, and resources are low. Many clinics that serve these individuals are too over-burdened to provide these services. We need new policies from the statehouse to the White House to increase access for all if we are to change this.

The Latino Cancer Institute’s partners at UCSF and UC-Davis have encountered these barriers while educating low-income, Spanish speaking women about hereditary breast cancer risk and family health history.

Moving these women into genetic testing and counseling in their own language is no easy feat as we discovered during another ongoing study with Stanford. We’ve so far identified 29 patients out of a sample of 115 with family or personal medical history indicating potential risk profiles that might benefit from genetic testing. However, due to issues related to cost, coverage, payor codes, and lack of pre- and post-genetic testing counseling in Spanish, the study found delays in testing which could potentially delay treatment.

Shortly after the White House Cancer Moonshot announcement last February, the University of Texas San Antonio Mays Cancer Center hosted the first lady for a visit. Dr. Ruben Mesa, Director of the Mays Cancer Center, is dedicated to finding answers beyond screening.

[Photo: Dr. Ruben Mesa with First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden and Dr. Ned Sharpless, former head of the National Cancer Institute at Mays Cancer Center, Feb 24, 2022.]

He aims for diversity across the spectrum; from researchers and educators, to providers and staff. In Dr. Mesa’s view, everyone at Mays Cancer Center must reflect “a perspective of diversity to ask better research questions, to develop a more inclusive culture, and advance compassionate, holistic and culturally competent care.”

On October 28th, at TLCI’s 4th Annual Forum, you’ll hear more from Dr. Mesa, who will be joined by Dr. Robert Winn of the Virginia Massey Cancer Center (two Directors of color) to talk about their visions for leadership that reflect DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and what that looks like, in our “Ask the Director” segment. Let’s see how they are handling genetic testing and treatment for their most vulnerable populations.

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See you at the Forum!