COA Patient Advocacy Network
News Bulletin: August 2020
Join us for Advocacy Chats: Where You Are Treated Makes a Difference
A new virtual and free educational offering from CPAN!
What do real estate and cancer care have in common? Location, location, location. Where you receive cancer care can affect price, quality, your free time, and so much more.

Join Rose Gerber, COA’s Director of Patient Advocacy and Education and Mark Thompson, MD, COA’s Medical Director of Public Policy and a former medical oncologist on Wednesday, August 12 from 12-12:30 p.m. ET to learn why where you are treated for cancer makes a difference.

During this free Advocacy Chat we will discuss the impact of community oncology on patient care and why it’s important for everyone touched by community oncology to work to preserve local, affordable and accessible cancer care. Stay engaged, stay informed. Join us!
Recorded Sessions and Presentations Available On-Demand from the 2020 Virtual Community Oncology Advocacy Summit!
CPAN’s first-ever Virtual Community Oncology Advocacy Summit: Cancer Care in a COVID-19 World was a day driven by advocacy and education!

CEOs, national experts, practice professionals, advocates, and patients shared perspectives and updates on the latest in cancer policy and legislation, the impact of COVID-19 on patient care and practice operations, and how practices have stepped up to provide uninterrupted, high-quality cancer care during these difficult times.

  • Missed a session? Want to re-watch a powerful discussion? All session recordings are accessible free of charge for Summit registrants. Watch them today!
Chapter Spotlight: Cancer Center of Middle Georgia
Medical oncologist and hematologist Dr. Harsha Vyas and CPAN Chapter Advocacy Leader Amber Jenkins, are driving factors behind the Cancer Center of Middle Georgia’s (CCMG) CPAN success.

From his experience advocating for policies that promote affordable cancer care nationally, Dr. Vyas knows that engaging his clinical team and administrative staff in grassroots advocacy opens new doors and provides a voice for the rural patients with cancer who depend on his clinic every day.

CCMG’s staff and clinical teams know that certain regulations and policies, no matter how well intentioned, can pose serious harm to their patients. CPAN gives them a platform and voice to influence these policies like never before.
Cancer Policy News You Can Use
Will COVID-19 Permanently Change Cancer Care?, National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine
  • “Telehealth visits can fill a critical need for newly diagnosed cancer patients who are seeking a second opinion. Some health plans actually require a second opinion, especially when a doctor recommends surgery or an experimental therapy.”

  • “One of the most effective strategies that was created was the reimbursement of telehealth visits at the same rate as in person encounters. This has allowed patients with many, but, admittedly, not all, cases to continue to receive medical care vital for their health.”

  • “But since the pandemic began, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which sponsors many cancer trials in the U.S., says enrollment in trials has dropped by about 10% each month.”

  • “Patients from out-of-state or living in rural Washington state experienced significant travel time, cost, and time away from work to receive outpatient urologic cancer care, according to an abstract presented at the 2020 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Program.”
SPOTLIGHT ON CANCER CARE: Coordinating Treatment Close to Home
Patients are treated better when they can stay in their communities. That's why Texas Oncology supports about 60,000 cancer patients clinically, socially, and financially each year at 220 sites of service across the Lone Star State.

Check out our Spotlight on Cancer Care video featuring Texas Oncology and the great work they do for patients, coordinating treatment close to home.
COVID-19 Resources: Patient Practice Connector
If you are a cancer patient who has previously received treatment at a hospital and need to find a new practice because of COVID-19, you can use the Patient Practice Connector. The Connector is free for patients. All submitted data is completely anonymous. Visit the Patient Practice Connector page to find a practice near you.

To support practices and advocates during the COVID-19 pandemic, COA has compiled a list of resources and protocols, including federal government actions, resources, and updates. Administrator and clinician tools, webinars, patient-facing materials and more are available here.