Download draft letter on comprehensive cancer care improvement act

DRAFT LETTER ON COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CARE IMPROVEMENT ACT
Dear Representative:
As a lymphoma advocate with the Lymphoma Research Foundation, I am writing to request that
you co-sponsor the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act, HR 1078. This bill would
improve the quality of cancer care by encouraging the development of cancer treatment plans
and cancer survivorship plans for Medicare beneficiaries.
Cancer survivors face several difficult transitions during their treatment. The Institute of
Medicine (IOM), in one of series of reports on the cancer care system, described the transition
from active treatment to follow-up care and monitoring as a time when cancer survivors are “lost
in transition.” But survivors also feel lost when they must make treatment decisions, when they
need to coordinate treatment with the management of cancer symptoms, or when they must make
significant changes in their course of treatment.
In all of these situations, cancer patients would benefit from a written plan that outlines and
coordinates their care or assists them in managing their follow-up survivorship care. The
Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act would establish a Medicare service for
development of treatment plans and survivorship plans. Medicare beneficiaries would
immediately benefit from this service, and a standard would be set for other third-party payers to
follow. The bill also encourages model programs for coordinated cancer care and training of
professionals in treatment and survivorship planning.
All of these initiatives will improve the quality of cancer care enjoyed by cancer survivors.
Please lend your support to this quality improvement act.