By Amy Lacey

An effort recently signed into state law and advocated for by leaders of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center aims to make it easier for Virginians to pay for screenings for the 4th most common cancer and cause of cancer-related death in the commonwealth.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 3,640 Virginians will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2024, and about a third of them are expected to die from the disease.
On May 14, Massey leaders and community partners joined Del. Delores McQuinn at the Virginia Capitol as Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law HB 238 Health insurance; coverage for colorectal cancer screening.

“I know that cancer touches lives, colorectal cancer touches lives. It has certainly touched my family,” said Youngkin at the bill signing. “If you can catch [it] early, that is the number one factor in surviving cancer.”

McQuinn sponsored the bill, which requires Virginia health insurers to provide:

• Coverage for exams and lab tests related to colorectal cancer screenings in accordance with the latest recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
• Coverage of a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive noninvasive stool-based screening test or direct visualization screening test.`

“It’s always about being able to detect it and being able to afford to have the screening that is absolutely necessary to save lives,” McQuinn said. “We have been working on this bill for a couple of years, and we are so thankful that we finally got it over the finish line.”

Massey has partnered with McQuinn’s office in recent years to advocate for passage of the bill.

Massey leaders highlight how elected officials throughout the commonwealth and members of their respective communities can work together to use this new law to reduce the cancer burden.

“First you have the knowledge, and second you have the courage,” said Robert A. Winn, M.D., director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at Massey. “When you have courage, you can actually get screenings. Thank you very much for allowing one more person to be saved.”

“We thank you for showing up. Not just today but every day. Researchers, community members, [Board members like] George Emerson, legislators,” said Becky Massey, chair of the Massey Advisory Board and patient advocate. “This is a team. And, Governor, we are very honored to share this today. We are better together.”

Partners of the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center from across the commonwealth were in attendance for this bill signing and spoke to the importance of improving access to cancer screenings for their communities. Rev. Tyron Williams, D.Div., pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Northumberland County, Virginia applauded the bill’s signing.

“This is for all of Virginia,” said Williams, who is part of Massey’s Facts & Faith Fridays program. “I serve in a rural community, and often we feel we are left out. Because of the legislation that is being signed today, there’s hope for people in the Northern Neck, especially men. It encourages them to get their colonoscopies and the treatment they need because too many of them die as a result of not doing that.”

Citizens of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, including Chief Stephen Adkins and Susann Brown, attended the bill signing as Massey research partners; they are helping to guide the community-led Chickahominy TRUTH Project, which aims to identify a potential environmental connection to cancer cases within a four-mile radius of the Tribal Center in Charles City County, Virginia.

“On a personal level, I lost a sister and I lost a dad to colon cancer,” Adkins said. “Governor, thank you so much, you and the legislature, for coming together, drafting this bill and for the signature you are affixing to it today.”

Antonio Villa Payares, M.D., M.P.H., of La Casa de la Salud, says this bill signing was a win for the Latino community.

“In regards to providing outreach to our patients and communities, this law is another resource [La Casa de la Salud] can use to facilitate access to health services and health information,” Villa Payares explained.

Also in attendance from Massey were Katherine Y. Tossas, Ph.D., M.S., director of the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics, and David P. Turner, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program, who are both the interim co-associate directors of Community Outreach and Engagement at Massey; Rev. Rachel Pierce. M.A., faith liaison and engagement coordinator; and Tiffany Saavedra, director of global oncology and strategic initiatives. Becky Massey and George Emerson represented the Massey Advisory Board.

Community partners included Riguey King of the American Cancer Society; Melinda Conklin, M.S., M.Ed., of Hitting Cancer Below the Belt; Jessica Deering of Cancer Action Coalition of Virginia; Rev. Gernard E. Reed of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in White Stone, Virginia; and Shirley Lewis, the widow of the late Rev. W. Randolph Lewis, who served as the pastor of the Morning Star Baptist Church and passed away from colorectal cancer in 2017; and Clovia “Miss Community” Lawrence who co-hosts monthly “Community Conversations” about cancer topics with Winn for Richmond-area radio stations, along with a nationally-distributed podcast called “Black Health Wins with Dr. Robert Winn.”