Mary Catherine Johnson is a retired small business owner outside of Rochester, New York. She voted for Donald Trump three times.
Lexy Mealing, who worked in a doctor’s office, is from Long Island. She’s a Democrat.
But the women share a common bond. Both survived breast cancer.
And when the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network organized its annual citizen lobbying day in Washington last month, Johnson and Mehring were among more than 500 volunteers pushing Congress to keep cancer research and support for cancer patients a top priority on the national health care agenda. It was one.
This day is a kind of ritual for organizations such as cancer organizations.
Mary Catherine Johnson is a breast cancer survivor and former small business owner. She lives outside of Rochester, New York. (Charlotte Kesl, KFF Health News)
Lexy Mealing is a breast cancer survivor living on Long Island, New York. She used to work in a doctor’s office. (Charlotte Kesl, KFF Health News)
This year, it comes as Democrats and Republicans in Washington face a budget impasse that could shut down the federal government. But these volunteers found common ground beyond their political differences.
“Not a single person here discussed whether you were a Democrat or a Republican,” said Mealing, one of 27 volunteers in the New York delegation. “Cancer doesn’t matter.”
All of the volunteer lobbyists are expected to contract the deadly disease in some way and die. More than 600,000 People in America this year.
Johnson said 10 of his mother’s siblings died of cancer, and a lifelong friend died at age 57, leaving behind a wife and two young daughters.
Like many volunteers in New York, Johnson said he is worried about today’s political climate.
“I think we’re probably the most divided we’ve ever been,” she said. “I’m scared of that. I’m scared of my grandchildren.”
Katie Martin, a cancer volunteer out of Buffalo, is also worried. She and her daughter recently drove past political protesters yelling at each other in the street.
“My daughter goes from silent to asking, ‘What is this?’ And I don’t know how to explain it, because it doesn’t even make sense to me,” she said. “It’s really heartbreaking.”
Milling said he rarely watches the news these days. “A lot of Americans are very stressed. There’s a lot going on.”
Americans are indeed divided on many issues, including immigration, guns, and President Trump. But helping people with cancer and other serious illnesses has broad bipartisan support, polls show.
in Recent SurveysSeven in 10 voters say it is very important for the federal government to fund medical research. This included majorities of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
“It’s rare to see numbers like that in today’s environment,” said Jarrett Lewis, a Republican pollster who surveyed patient groups. “But almost everyone in this country knows someone who has cancer.”
Likewise, recently KFF poll Three-quarters of American adults, including most Republicans who are aligned with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, want Congress to expand subsidies that help Americans buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, a new survey found.
These subsidies, which are critical for people with chronic conditions like cancer, are one of the main sticking points in the current congressional budget impasse.
Cancer volunteers gathered at a conference hotel in Washington to focus on a common agenda: increasing funding for cancer research, maintaining insurance subsidies, and expanding access to cancer screening.
“You can disagree politically. You can disagree in social situations,” said Martin, a Buffalo-area volunteer. “But we can see beyond those differences because we are here for one purpose.”
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteers decorated nearly 10,000 white paper bags with messages of hope and remembrance for cancer patients in all 50 states. (Charlotte Kesl, KFF Health News)
Hundreds of volunteers from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network light candles in Constitution Gardens along the National Mall in Washington after visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A meeting was held. Each state had a pillar commemorating a past volunteer who had died from cancer. (Charlotte Kesl, KFF Health News)
State delegates rehearsed speeches they would deliver to members of Congress. They looked for personal stories to share. And we swapped tips on how to deal with resistant employees and how to ask for photos with lawmakers.
Lobby On the morning of the day, they reconvened in the cavernous ballroom, wearing matching blue polo shirts and armed with red information folders to leave in each office they would visit.
They heard words of encouragement from two college basketball coaches. They then headed across town to the Capitol.
Volunteers from every state across the country attacked 484 of the 535 Senate and House offices.
Not every visit was an unqualified victory. Many Republican lawmakers oppose extending insurance subsidies, arguing it would cost too much.
But lawmakers from both parties supported increased research funding and support for more cancer screenings.
And New Yorkers were in a good mood that day. “It was amazing,” Mealing said at the end of the day. “You get the feeling, ‘We’re all stronger together.’”
In the evening, volunteers gathered at the National Mall and held a candlelight vigil. It was raining. Bagpipes played.
Around 10,000 tea lights in small paper bags were twinkling around the pond near the Lincoln Memorial. Each celebrity had a name attached to them: Life with Cancer.
Another New Yorker, John Manna, is a self-described Reagan Republican whose father died of lung cancer. On this day, he pondered the lessons a divided nation could learn.
“Talk to people,” he said. “Getting to know each other as people helps you understand someone’s perspective. We have very few disagreements, but we don’t attack each other. We talk and discuss.”
Manna said she would come back next year.
