Access to quality health care looks very different depending on where you live. In upstate New York, that disparity is especially pronounced in our rural communities, where shortages of health professionals, long travel distances and financial barriers make it harder to get the care that people need. For someone facing a breast cancer diagnosis, those barriers have serious consequences.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer affecting women. Every year, about 18,000 women in New York are diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,500 women die from the disease. And while less common, 160 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in New York State.
New York's health care affordability crisis is staggering
Amid shortages of health professionals in rural communities and hundreds of thousands of people
who are uninsured and underinsured. New York also ranks among the worst states in the country for health care affordability.
In rural communities here in upstate New York, 2 in every 5 households struggle to afford basic needs. People living in these areas also face more severe health outcomes than in urban areas. For someone diagnosed with breast cancer, the financial strain of treatment can add another layer of difficulty to the already significant challenges of keeping a roof over their head and food on the table.
My daughter, Laurie, saw how pervasive this problem was during her own battle with breast cancer. As she went through treatment, she met countless women facing not only the fear of breast cancer but also the financial burdens of everyday expenses.
To help meet this overwhelming need, Laurie founded Saint Agatha Foundation in 2004 to support breast cancer patients overcome the financial barriers to treatment and recovery. We’ve since expanded by offering wraparound support to patients across 12 counties in central and western New York, covering expenses that might otherwise become barriers to care, including treatment and procedures, co-payments and medications, transportation, and other basic living expenses.
Closing gaps in care will require investments in the hospitals, health care organizations and community programs that are already serving rural New Yorkers. Those organizations need resources to give patients access to advanced care closer to home. Through partnerships with local hospitals and organizations, Saint Agatha Foundation invests in state-of-the-art technology and equipment to help transform local providers into cutting-edge centers for breast cancer detection and treatment.
When it comes to improving breast cancer outcomes, early detection is critical to improving survival rates and, in many cases, reducing the need for more aggressive treatment.
This was the catalyst for an exciting recent investment by Saint Agatha Foundation in eight rural communities across upstate New York, expanding access to advanced diagnostic and treatment technology.
These investments include advanced imaging and diagnostic technology, precision surgical navigation tools, and systems that support tumor localization and radiation therapy. Together, they will help our partners detect, diagnose and treat breast cancer earlier and more effectively. Bringing this advanced technology to our rural communities will promote early detection and improve the patient experience, supporting healthy outcomes for people across upstate New York.
New York must do more to expand access to care
But these grants cannot close every gap. Too many people still struggle to find the level of breast cancer care they need and face the added burden of being uninsured or underinsured.
New York needs a broader, statewide commitment to strengthening rural health care and ensuring that patients have access to the technology, providers and financial support they need. No one should have to travel hours for essential breast cancer care or choose between paying a medical bill and paying the rent.
Saint Agatha Foundation is committed to doing our part. I urge health care providers, policymakers, philanthropists and others across New York to join us in closing these gaps so that every person facing breast cancer can have access to the care, support and hope they deserve.
Kathy Mezzalingua is board president of Saint Agatha Foundation, which provides support, comfort and care to breast cancer patients across central and western New York, in Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Otsego, Oswego, St. Lawrence and Tompkins counties.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: We must bring better breast cancer care to upstate NY | Opinion
