Kristen Dahlgren, Chief External Affairs Officer at Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I just got this email. My life insurance application DENIED “due to your history of cancer.”
I’m not surprised. Almost seven years after my diagnosis, it is still with me. I don’t mean physically. I feel great. I am considered “cancer-free.” My life is full and active and healthy… but, someone, somewhere (ok, an algorithm somewhere) thinks they would lose money betting on me being around for a long life. OUCH!!
I get it. I had cancer. It happened to me. Every day, I am acutely aware it could happen again. Today, there are an estimated 18.6 million cancer survivors in the United States, who share that reality. That’s roughly 1 in every 18 Americans living with a “history of cancer.”
18.6 million of us waiting…..
I’m doing what I can… exercising, eating healthy, seeing my doctor … but I am also pushing for MORE. We are on the cusp of monumental change in how we treat and survive cancer, and I don’t want to just wait.
Joaquin Duato the CEO of Johnson & Johnson said recently that making many cancers curable in the next 10 years is a realistic goal. I hear that often, and the brilliant minds we’ve assembled at Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy are working on this.
Researchers are developing technologies that can identify cancer’s unique fingerprints, detect any traces of disease and train the immune system to recognize, attack and remember cancer cells- creating a durable immune response that helps keep cancer from coming back.
That’s the future I want to live in. I don’t want to be defined by my “history of cancer.” I want recurrence to become the exception, not the expectation.
It is not too much to ask.
We need more research, more clinical trials and, frankly, more people who believe this is worth investing in.
Every year our healthcare system spends billions of dollars treating cancers that return, often at a much more advanced and costly stage. What if we put more money into diagnosing earlier, preventing recurrence, and making late stage cancers more treatable?
We can. We are open to partners, philanthropists and patients who share this vision.
Imagine a future where a cancer diagnosis doesn’t leave someone carrying decades of uncertainty. Where recurrence is intercepted. Where fewer families face the physical, emotional, and financial devastation. The time to invest time, effort, capital … is NOW.
Regardless of what an insurance company says, instead of looking over my shoulder, I choose to look toward the future. Join me!”
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