Cancer advocate Jessica Breazeale of Wesson and her mother, Kim Whittington, recently visited the State Capitol to advocate for people who fall in the Medicaid coverage gap, during Patient Advocacy Day.

In Mississippi, 18,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year, and nearly 8,000 will die from the disease. Those who gathered at the Capitol are calling on lawmakers to change these statistics by taking steps to make the fight against cancer a priority. The visit was part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Cancer Action Day event. ACS CAN advocates for evidence-based public policies to reduce the cancer burden for everyone. 

“As a cancer advocate, I let my lawmakers know if we’re going to eliminate cancer as a major health problem in Mississippi, this goal must be top of mind for our legislature,” said Breazeale. “By making Medicaid expansion a priority, we could ensure progress continues to reduce suffering and death from this disease. We met with our elected leaders as representatives of each one of the 18,000 people who are estimated to be diagnosed with cancer this year in Mississippi.”

The women represented the Mississippi Health Ambassadors Initiate (MHAI). They advocated for healthy people, a strong workforce, and a better Mississippi alongside the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

Whittington and Breazeale, along with nearly 100 others, met with legislators at the state capitol & spread the message: “Mississippians won’t settle for a broken healthcare system.” Research shows Medicaid expansion would lead to higher overall cancer survival rates and better outcomes for Mississippians. With consistent access to healthcare, cancer can be detected in its early stage, where it is more easily treatable. 

Dr. Justin Turner, Mississippi’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), often chants, “Change can’t wait!” Advocates would add, “Close the coverage gap!”