Gail’s Law can save lives from breast cancer

This year, 5,920 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Wisconsin and sadly, 690 will lose their battle. I write today as one of the many fighting relentlessly for more precious moments with my loved ones. I am one of the 50 percent of women with dense breast tissue, which increases my risk of developing breast cancer by four to six times, and makes breast cancer on traditional mammograms much harder to detect.

With a family history of breast cancer, I made sure I did everything right — from eating well and exercising to receiving my regular mammograms. At the time, I didn’t know that dense breast tissue makes finding cancer like finding a snowflake in a snowstorm. Following an abnormality, my doctor recommended follow-up testing. I was fortunate to have excellent healthcare, receiving a supplemental mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy all on the same day, a rare experience for many Wisconsin women who face financial barriers to secondary screenings. While I was fortunate to catch my cancer early, not all women have the same experience.   

I’ve since battled cancer for a little over two years, learning the critical need to be my own advocate by building my knowledge, engaging with my medical team, creating a support network, knowing when to ask for another opinion and advocating for the healthcare I — and we all — deserve. Under current Wisconsin state law, health insurance policies must cover two mammograms to screen for breast cancer for women from ages 45 to 49 if certain requirements are met, and annual mammograms starting at 50 years old. 

I almost delayed my screening, but I’m glad I hadn’t thanks to a promise I made to a friend who was battling cancer herself. I promised her that I would always go in for my screenings. Following my diagnosis, my cancer was aggressive. Had I delayed my diagnosis, that cancer would have spread and may not have been caught until much later, significantly changing the trajectory of my treatment. Had I delayed my diagnosis, treatment would have likely included years of chemotherapy and\or a mastectomy. This would have included additional out-of-pocket expenses and increased the financial strain on the healthcare system, my family, and led to time out of work, where I support our brave military families.

Today, the average costs for secondary screenings range from $234 to over $1,000 dollars, imposing significant financial strain onto many women and unfairly disadvantaging them in receiving the care they need. Delays in identifying treatment can increase the cost of out-of-pocket treatment and the amount of work missed due to treatment. In fact, studies show that one in five patients would skip recommended follow-up imaging to avoid paying a deductible. No woman should be faced with choosing between paying a household bill or paying for life-saving screenings. Moreover, when caught at the localized stage, breast cancer has a 99 percent five-year survival rate, compared to a striking 30 percent five-year survival rate for those whose cancer was caught after it spread to places like the lungs and lymph nodes.

Gail’s Law empowers women to take control of their health, giving them a chance to fight breast cancer before facing the immense financial and physical toll to treat an advanced case. It’s time to move Wisconsin forward with legislation over half the country has already passed, covering secondary screenings for those with dense breast tissue and other high-risk factors. Contact your lawmakers today and urge them to support Gail’s Law at EarlyDetectionWI.com!

Rose Holland is a breast cancer survivor and career advocate for military families based in Three Lakes.