b'Black Men Die of Prostate Cancer LETTER TO EDITORTony Exum for Senateat Double the Rate of Other RacesEDITOR, Springsoverthepasteightyears,passing legislationtoensurecleanwater,increase I ts a pleasure and an honor to serve you asaccesstoaffordablehealthcare,affordable your Representative for House District 17housing, and ensure our kids have access to By Hazel Trice Edney in the State Legislature - Im looking forwardgreat public schools, and help those living in poverty improve their quality of life.to my last legislative session as your State B enjamin J. Lambert IV, a mem- Representative. We have made great stridesWould you be willing to join our team as a berofoneofthemostprom- insupportingpubliceducation,ensuringfounding donor today?inentBlackfamiliesinVirginiasequitable recovery from the COVID-19 pan- These new maps have given us an oppor-public service history, lost his bat- demic,andinvestinginColorado\'sinfra- tunity to carry on that work, and I would be tletoprostatecanceronMonday,structure.honored to have your sup port. June 3, 2019. He was only 52. HisHowever, there is still work to be done andIfyouarewillingandabletocon-father,VirginiaSenatorBenjaminafter much thought and conversation withtributetomycampaigntodaytohelp J. Lambert III, his grandfather, andour community, I am excited to announceget us off the ground, I would greatly that I am running for the new Senate Districtappreciate it. Much like years past, this four uncles also all died of prostate11. willbeoneofthemostcompetitive cancer, according to Lambert familyYesterday,theSupremeCourtapprovedraces in the state and I will need your members.newmapsdrawnbytheIndependentsupport. Can you donate $25, $50, or The Lamberts are just seven exam- RedistrictingCommissionthatchanged ples of the thousands of Black menthe make-up of the Colorado Springs State$100 today? per yearfrom every socio-economicSenateDistricts.SD11isnowanopenI look forward to seeing everyone out walk of life and every part of the U.seat in Southeast Colorado Spring that con- in the community, and stay tuned for tainsnearlyalloftheoldHD17,aswellfurther updates, events, and volunteer S.-whoaredisparatelydiagnosedas Cimarron Hills and the airport. You canopportunities. Please feel free to reach with prostate cancer. Not only is thesearch your address at this link to see whichout with questions as well or visit my rate of prostate cancer among BlackHazel Trice Edney Senate District you live in. website at tonyexum.com.menhigherthanWhites,buttheIvebeenproudtoserveSEColorado chances of Black men dying from itcoveringtheotherformsoftreat-are more than double that of Whitementbyradiationmainlybecause men and men of other races, accord- of the lower costs, reported Jeremy ing to the National Cancer Institute.LazarusfortheRichmondFree Butdoctorsandmedicaladmin- Press as the bill passed through the istratorsacrossthenationbelieveGeneral Assembly during its spring these grossly disparate numbers canlegislative session of 2017. be minimized or at least equalized byTheFreePressarticlequoted one form of cancer therapy that top- Anthem spokesman Scott Golden as level cancer doctors and researcherssaying Anthem stopped covering the say could pivot the death disparities.therapy after finding no clear scien-Thetherapy,calledProtonBeam,tific evidence that proton beam treat-specializesinzappingcancercellsment for localized prostate cancer is with laser focused radiation withoutequal to other forms of conventional damagingsurroundingnon-cancer- photon radiation therapy. ous tissues. Some of the top medi- ButthatwasbeforeVirginias caluniversitiesacrossthenationGeneralAssemblypassedthelaw have proton beam centers; includingprohibitinginsurersfromholding Harvard,MDAnderson,theMayoproton therapy to a higher standard Clinic, and Johns Hopkins.incomparisontoothertherapies. ThisisthereasonthatalistofAlthoughthelawdoesnotman-insuranceagenciesarecurrent- date coverage for any specific case, lyunderfirebycanceradvocatesaccordingtoVirginiasLegislative acrossthenationforrefusingtoInformationSystem,thelaw cover the cost of proton beam ther- Prohibits health insurance policies apy.Forexample,evenaftertheand plans from holding proton radia-VirginiaGeneralAssemblypassedtion therapy to a higher standard of abi-partisanbill,thatencouragesclinical evidence for benefit coverage insurerssuchasAnthem,Aetna,decisionsthanisappliedforother CignaandHumana,tostoplabel- types of radiation therapy treatment. ing the FDA-approved treatment asThe measure applies to policies and experimental, Anthem is still underplans that provide coverage for can-fireforwhatisdeemedasunfaircer therapy. decisionsthat,insomeinstances,The Virginia Legislatures move to are believed to have led to deaths.make law concerning the issue was In doing so, the insurers had beenmainly because the refusal to cover Protontherapyhasbaffledcancer experts and advocates alike. Proton therapy is a medically nec-Doctors and medicalessary,FDA-clearedtreatmentfor cancerpatients,saysareportby administratorstheD.C.-basedAllianceforProton TherapyAccess(APTA).Formany across the nationcancerpatients,protontherapyis prescribedbytheirphysicianand istheoptimalandmosteffective believe these grosslytreatmentoption.Studieshave shown that proton therapy can help disparate numbersincrease survival, reduce the risk of secondarycancers,resultinfewer can be minimizedacuteandlong-termconditionsas wellasdebilitatingshort-termside or at least equalizedeffects and improve quality of life for individuals undergoing cancer treat-by Proton Beamment, states the APTA report titled, "CancerCareDenied:TheBroken therapy that top- StateofPatientAccesstoProton Therapy."level cancer doctorsDaniel E. Smith, executive director of the APTA, says the coverage deni-and researchers sayals are often shocking and have led could pivot the deathto death. disparities.Continued on BOCNEWS.comBODY OF CHRIST NEWS JANUARY 2022 15'