Three days of breast cancer research seminars and advocacy training, followed by 11 Congressional office visits, 2 Senate office visits, 16,848 steps, and 6.5 miles on Capitol Hill! This is what our fantastic group of Virginia breast cancer advocates, VBCF staff, and a Board member accomplished in Washington, DC, during the 2024 National Breast Cancer Coalition’s (NBCC) Advocate Leadership Summit and Lobby Day, May 4-7. VBCF awarded Noss Scholarships* to five volunteer breast cancer survivors and metastatic breast cancer thrivers to attend this year’s event. Our advocates hailed from Ashland, Leesburg, Roseland, Surry, and Toano, VA.
NBCC Leadership Summit
The 2024 NBCC Advocate Leadership Summit was packed with sessions and workshops presented by prominent researchers and public policy experts in the field. Marylinn Minor, former VBCF Board Member, and current NBCC Board Member, opened the Summit and moderated the first plenary session: “Drug Cost, Value, & Accessibility – Policy Levers for Advancing Equitable High-Quality Care in Oncology.” Other sessions on the science of breast cancer included the “Vaccine Landscape in Breast Cancer,” “Patient-Centered Oncology Research,” and “How to Review a Breast Cancer Research Proposal,” just to name a few. Advocacy training workshops helped participants prepare for Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.
“The first three days were a whirlwind of information, and I was a sponge soaking in all the technical and tactical aspects of this advocacy work. At Lobby Day, it was powerful to put those thoughts into action. It was an incredible experience to hear the stories of other survivors and thrivers, and to memorialize those who have been lost. Leaving the Summit/Lobby Day, I am energized to get more involved with VBCF and maybe, eventually, in reviewing proposals for the DoD Breast Cancer Research program.”
Jeniffer Cox, from Toano, VA
Lobby Day – May 7th
Our top legislative priority for the 118th Congress (2023-2024) remains the passage of HR549: The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act. This bill would eliminate the arbitrary waiting periods for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (5 months) and Medicare coverage (24 months) for those with metastatic breast cancer. Waiving these waiting periods would allow patients to access the health care they need sooner and help lessen their stress and financial burden. As of this writing, the bill has 241 bipartisan co-sponsors—an amazing feat in this very polarized Congress!
VBCF is thrilled that our work this year and last has resulted in 10 of our 11 Virginia U.S. Representatives signing on to co-sponsor HR549: Representatives Beyer (VA-8th); Cline (VA-6th); Connolly (VA-11th); Griffith (VA-9th); Kiggans (VA-2nd); McClellan (VA-4th); Scott (VA-3rd); Spanberger (VA-7th); Wexton (VA-10th); Wittman (VA-1st). Our advocates enjoyed visiting all the Congressional offices on this list to thank them for their support.
However, a few Virginia legislators are missing from this list: Rep. Bob Good (VA-5th) and Senators Kaine and Warner. Our fierce advocates met with staff from these offices. They did an outstanding job of communicating the urgency of passing this legislation by sharing their personal stories and asking hard-hitting questions. While we did not get a commitment from these legislators, they know they will continue to hear from us until they do!
Congress has until the end of this year to pass HR549, either as a standalone bill or as part of a larger package of bills. VBCF is hopeful that with such large and bipartisan support, the bill can make it to the floor for a vote, and we will continue to work with NBCC to keep the momentum going.
As in years past, advocates urged Virginia legislators to support level funding ($150 million for FY25) for the US Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP). This program produces innovative, high-impact breast cancer research through a partnership of scientists and consumers and is responsible for breakthroughs like the development of Herceptin to treat HER2+ breast cancer. The BCRP invests the second-highest amount of funds in breast cancer research after the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Since the program’s inception in 1993, Virginia research institutions have received over $51.3 million in funding.
Our huge thanks to the dedicated volunteers who participated in the NBCC Summit and Lobby Day with us this year. We could not do this important work without you! If you are interested in getting involved in VBCF’s advocacy efforts, please contact kirsta@vbcf.org and sign up for our Advocacy Action Alerts at vbcf.org/advocacy-alerts.
*VBCF’s Noss Scholarship funds training for volunteer advocates in legislative advocacy and medical research to carry on the work that Karin Decker Noss, a dedicated board member and former VBCF president, began.