Tour urges federal help in cancer fight
John F. Kennedy once believed there was a lot people could do without asking their government for help.
But many today are convinced that fighting cancer with a typical American paycheck or health insurance company wouldn't be a good example.
Hoping to open leaders' eyes to the realities of the deadly disease in the 21st century, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network's Fight Back Express Bus made a stop in front of the Schaumburg Flyers' Alexian Field before Thursday evening's baseball game.
While Flyers fans were encouraged to add their names to the thousands already scrawled across the red-white-and-blue bus, volunteers and cancer survivors spoke of a need for change in America's policy on cancer.
"About 20,000 people in Illinois are going to get cancer next year, and we'd like to make that not happen," said Dan Conway, a surgeon at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights and president of the Northwest Regional Board of the American Cancer Society.
"The government has to be deeply ingrained in the cancer problem," Conway said. "There should never be a time when a family should have to decide between putting food on the table and getting chemotherapy."
Kate and Jim Costello of Arlington Heights said cancer has been an ongoing part of the life experience of their 18-year-old son.
When he suffered a relapse of his leukemia back in 1994 and needed a bone-marrow transplant, the family needed to identify a compatible donor. But their insurance company wouldn't pay for the tests.
Fortunately, Jim is an attorney whose lawsuit against the company eventually caused it to break down and pay long after the tests had identified three potential donors.
"Most people can't afford an attorney," Kate said. "Most people don't save for this. The insurance companies know this. My family is blessed financially, but I'm speaking tonight for all those people who don't have a lawyer in the family."
The Costellos and others said no spirit of self-reliance is up to the task of paying for cancer treatments when patients can't get adequate health insurance coverage.
Shirley Mertz of Inverness said she's devoted the rest of her life to raising money and advocating stronger government involvement for cancer treatment after personally beating the disease twice.
"What good are treatments when they can't be accessed by people who don't have insurance or the personal funds to pay for them?" she said. "This should not be happening in America."
Mertz implored attendees to write, call or e-mail their government representatives, who she said are always on the lookout for what issues can get them re-elected.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network's Fight Back Express Bus will end its 48-state tour in Washington, D.C., on Election Day.
The organization is separate from the American Cancer Society itself, whose nonprofit status limits the amount of political advocacy it can engage in, volunteers said.