Local cancer advocates take message to Capitol Hill to push for funding

More than 700 cancer patients, survivors, and advocates gathered on Capitol Hill this week to push for change.

Among those representing Mississippi was Christina Wright, who met with lawmakers to advocate for increased cancer research funding and better access to treatment.

Wright also urged support for legislation aimed at expanding access to clinical trials, especially for people in rural communities.

She says continued research and improved access to care are critical for cancer patients across the country. “I feel like I don’t go a week that I don’t have somebody else in my life that’s been diagnosed with cancer. And that’s a really helpless feeling. And if you cut that funding, you cut off tomorrow’s cures. Anytime the funding is cut and those research programs get cut, you have to start from one. Again, they lose all of that. So, the other acts that we did was the Clinical Trials Modernization Act. So, kind of hand in hand with that funding, there’s real barriers to people taking advantage of clinical trials. Of course, there’s not a clinical trial in everybody’s backyard. And, you know, in Mississippi, we know, you know, what a hardship it is to having access to care.”

Wright says she’ll continue sharing her story and advocating for policies that help cancer patients get the care they need.

For more information or to get involved, visit fightcancer.org.