How do I get screened? Why does it take so long to get additional tests and results? Is there help to pay my insurance? Is there someone who can help navigate me through this process? Where do I find resources when I need them?

These are a few of the questions attendees asked at the Cancer Moonshot listening event Feb. 23 at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

Cancer Moonshot, a comprehensive program started in 2016, was reignited by President Joe Biden in February 2022, with the goal of reducing the cancer death rate by at least 50% over the next 25 years and improving the experience of living with and surviving cancer.

The Wichita listening roundtable was sponsored by KU School of Medicine-Wichita, Masonic Cancer Alliance, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the Kansas Cancer Partnership, Cancer Center of Kansas and Ascension Via Christi.

Attendees heard presentations from Paul Wagle, MHA, M.A., manager, Mission Integration – Ethics at Ascension Via Christi; Joseph Palm, MPH, director of Health & Human Services Region 7; Gary Doolittle, M.D., medical director of Masonic Cancer Alliance; Shaker Dakhil, M.D., FACP, president of Cancer Center of Kansas; and Wyatt Sheeder, executive director of Wichita Cancer Foundation.

They discussed services their individual organizations offered and what gaps or challenges they still see.

Similar topics were opened up to the group via a virtual survey led by Hope Krebill, executive director of the Masonic Cancer Alliance, the outreach network of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, followed by a group discussion led by Judy Johnston, M.S., R.D., L.D., cancer survivor and research instructor for Population Health at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

“One challenge in health care is to make sure that rural communities have access to the same resources that one can receive in metropolitan areas,” said Doolittle.

Other topics that were repeated by many included health care disparities, insurance and access to care.

Palm emphasized the importance of screening and research, but also recognized that one of the barriers in seeking screenings is lack of insurance. He gave examples of funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help take down some of the barriers.

The CDC has announced first-year funding awards of $215 million in a five-year, $1.1 billion investment to prevent and control cancer. They went to 86 organizations to study ways to advance health equities and build capacity in cancer prevention and control. In September 2022, HHS provided $5.4 million to help centers throughout the U.S., including the community center of Southeast Kansas in Pittsburg, to increase cancer screenings among low-income populations. The National Cancer Institute announced $23 million to support the creation of research centers to study the role of telehealth in cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and equity of access to outcomes.

Dakhil discussed solutions that were available during COVID-19 that need to be extended. For instance, Medicare required a physician to be present to give certain kinds of care. The Biden administration alleviated that burden and allowed supervision by availability, not by being present. That rule isn’t permanent, however.

Telemedicine allowed physicians to communicate with patients by phone or video — a regulation that has been extended by the Biden administration until the end of the year, but a stipulation of including a video with the phone conversation was added, according to Dakhil.

Paying insurance co-pays for six months when jobs are lost is one burden the Cancer Center of Kansas has undertaken.

“We provide a hand up, not a handout,” Sheeder said. “In 2022, 84 people in 29 counties were helped.”

“The average premium paid was $500/month to help take down the barrier of deciding what to pay for — insurance, rent or kids’ school.”

Brian Pate, M.D., chair of KU Wichita Pediatrics, pediatrician and father of a son who had leukemia, said that children have their own set of challenges, but now Kansas has Children’s Oncology Group certified programs that offer access to state-of-the-art research and treatment protocols. Created by KU Wichita Pediatrics and Wesley Children’s Hospital, Ascension Via Christi also has access to the network of services.

Attendees who provide community resources were able to describe their services.

For instance, Gayle Thomas, MPA, executive director of Witness Project of Kansas, talked about its services of breast screening and outreach to primarily African American women in the community.

One participant said that it’s also after the cancer is out of the body that additional resources are necessary and survivors need to be heard.

Rebecca Lohman, MPH, CES, founded Survivor 2.0 and those participants have shared with her that mental health and exercise are also major needs.

“The community conversation was engaging,” said Krebill. “Many shared their personal experiences and resources that helped them navigate through health care. I was particularly impressed with all the great resources available to the Wichita community.”

Although the session went past its time limit, participants willingly stayed to hear about people’s stories and services offered.

“It was a great conversation between survivors and care providers,” said Johnston. “Very diverse participation.”

Above, left: Joseph Palm, MPH, director of Health & Human Services Region 7, detailed some of the funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earmarked for cancer prevention and control.