COA Patient Advocacy Network
News Bulletin: November 2020
December 2020 Advocacy Chat
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Up Next: Between Life and Death: From Despair to Hope
Advances in medicine, technology, and knowledge have increased the chances that patients with cancer will survive their disease. Some patients will not survive a cancer diagnosis, however, which means that physicians must prepare patients for the possibility of end-of-life care and even acceptance of death.

Join Kashyap Patel, MD, vice president of COA and CEO of Carolina Blood & Cancer Care Associates, as he discusses his new book, Between Life and Death: From Despair to Hope. Dr. Patel chronicles real patients who faced death with bravery and dignity. He will share his experience supporting patients with the transition to palliative care, offer strategies for dealing with this difficult issue, and more.
Missed Our Last Advocacy Chat?
Check out our October advocacy chat on white and brown bagging. 
When insurers decide how cancer treatments are delivered, patients pay the price. Watch as Board-Certified Medical Oncologist and Hematologist Barbara L. McAneny, MD, AMA Past President, and CEO of New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants, Ltd, discusses the challenges white and brown bagging pose for patients and the practice of medicine.

CPAN Chapter Spotlight:
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders
Nine locations in North Texas
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (The Center) sees nearly 5,000 new patients each year across nine locations in North Texas.

Center staff appreciate how it feels to be diagnosed with cancer because many have personal experience. When Jennifer Sassano, RN, director of clinical operations, was diagnosed, her patient perspective and personal perspective came together, fostering an even greater appreciation for the daily challenges people with cancer face.

These challenges include engaging insurers to ensure patients receive personalized, high-quality care that’s convenient and administered when needed. Many in Texas are denied coverage for routine services like scans and forced to pay out-of-pocket. Every day, the Center advocates for patients and families, working to overturn coverage denials and other burdensome practices that put profits over people.
Cancer News You Can Use
Associated Press
Britta Bloomquist of Duluth, Minnesota, has been reading her clinical notes for years, first struggling through red tape and more recently clicking into a secure online patient website.

American Journal of Managed Care
Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president for quality programs and value-based care at Texas Oncology and Community Oncology Alliance payment reform co-chair, discusses the role of employers in cancer care benefits and issues stemming from the pandemic.

CURE Magazine
With the U.S. Supreme Court set to a hear a landmark case on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in November, thousands of patients with cancer stand to not only lose their insurance coverage, but also guaranteed protections for their pre-dispositioned disease and benefits of care.

Health IT Analytics
In order to reduce the cancer care disparities that persist in health care, health care organizations need quality data and increased access to genetic testing.

American Journal of Managed Care
At this year’s Community Oncology Alliance Virtual Payer Exchange Summit, the conversation on driving change within cancer care and cost reduction involved not only community-based oncology practices, but the employers and employer health groups who work with them as well.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) has posted a draft recommendation statement on screening for colorectal cancer. For the first time, the Task Force is recommending that screening start at age 45.
Community Oncology 101 Video:
What are Cancer Stages?
Cancer stages are a measurement of how advanced or aggressive a cancer is upon diagnosis, and they help inform a patient's treatment plan.
Resources for Chapters