[August 06, 2015]

New ACS CAN Report Shows New Mexico Falling Behind on Cancer-Fighting Public Policies

New Mexico is falling behind when it comes to supporting policies and passing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer. According to the latest edition of How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, New Mexico measured up to policy recommendations in two of the nine issue areas ranked. The report was released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

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"We've made tremendous progress in the way we diagnose and treat cancer across the country. But to leverage this progress, New Mexico legislators must take advantage of the opportunities to pass evidence-based laws and policies that are proven to save lives and money," said ACS (News - Alert) CAN Government Relations Director Sandra Adondakis. "In New Mexico alone in 2015, 10,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer and 3,600 will die from it. We can't wait to take action when the stakes are that high. This report outlines ways lawmakers can make a difference by emphasizing cancer prevention, curbing tobacco use and prioritizing quality of life for patients and their families."

How Do You Measure Up? rates states in nine specific areas of public policy that can help fight cancer, including smoke-free laws, tobacco tax levels, funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs and cessation coverage under Medicaid, funding for cancer screening programs and restricting indoor tanning devices for minors. The report also looks at whether or not a state has said yes to federal funds available to increase access to care through its Medicaid program, has passed policies proven to increase patient quality of life and offers a well-balanced approach to pain medications.

Additionally, the report offers a blueprint for states to effectively implement provisions of the health care law in a way that benefits cancer patients and their families, and discusses the negative financial impact if New Mexico fails to take action on cancer-fighting policy. Passing and implementing the policy recommendations in the report would not only save lives in New Mexico, but also save millions in long-term health care costs and in some cases would even generate additional, much-needed revenue.

A color-coded system classifies how well a state is doing in each issue. Green shows that a state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark and red shows where states are falling short.

One category that New Mexico could easily move from red to green is palliative care. Improving quality of life often means addressing the pain and stress of a serious illness. Palliative care is essential to the goal of helping cancer patients and their families cope with diagnosis and treatment. Studies show cancer patients receiving palliative care are more likely to have positive outcomes and overall patient care costs actually go down. But, it isn't available to everyone and that's something ACS CAN wants to see changed.

"As patient advocates, we've worked hard to educate people about ways to prevent and treat cancer, but our voice is not enough if state and local policymakers don't take action to fund and implement state policies and programs that are proven to help," said Adondakis.

On September 2, 2015, New Mexico ACS CAN will shine the spotlight on palliative care at its Cancer Summit: Treating the Person Beyond the Disease. The day-long, free event will be held at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center at 1201, Camino de Salud NE in Albuquerque from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Tweet this: ACS CAN invites you to its free Cancer Summit: Treating the Person Beyond the Disease. Go to http://acscan.org/action/nm to register!

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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