LETTER: Congress should act to make clinical trials more accessible

To Ozaukee Press:

As an eight-year cancer survivor, a former caregiver to a cancer patient and an

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network advocate, I recently traveled

to Washington, D.C., to ask Congress to make fighting cancer a national priority. Among our top asks for Congress was urging members to pass legislation that would make it easier for cancer patients to participate in life-saving clinical trials. In an era of constant partisan fights, it’s a

breath of fresh air to see bipartisan support for the Clinical Trial Modernization Act (CTMA).

While people may be familiar with some of the financial struggles cancer patients face, like huge medical bills or loss of income for the patient or family caregivers, the burdensome costs associated with participating in a clinical trial are less known. For many patients, the cost of travel or lodging at far-away clinical trial sites and the loss of income from hours

spent participating in and traveling to trials are huge obstacles.

The CTMA would help address these barriers by allowing clinical trial sponsors to provide financial support to patients for expenses associated with their trial participation, including medical costs like copays and non-medical costs such as travel, parking, food and lodging. Passing this bill will help patients, regardless of their economic means or their geographic location, have a better shot at participating in promising and potentially life-saving clinical trials.

I am hopeful that my members of Congress will join in the bipartisan support for this important piece of legislation that could offer hope for so many people.

Melissa Kultgen

Belgium