Bellingham resident Katie Grainger, who has been personally impacted by cancer, was one of more than 750 advocates who traveled to Washington, D.C., in mid-September as part of the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. In her six years supporting state and federal health care policy, Grainger has witnessed strides made in cancer care, research and treatment.
Grainger is a legislative ambassador for the Cancer Action Network and a member of the Washington state delegation. She was excited this year to see more young adults joining the effort, as well as representatives from LGBTQ+ and Indigenous communities.
Advocates at Lobby Day asked Congress to pass legislation for Medicare to cover new multi-cancer early detection tests and increase federal funding for cancer research and early detection programs.
“Screening and early detection is the game changer,” Grainger said. “We’re trying to give people with cancer more time. People don’t always realize the value of that time until they lose it.”
Dr. Carol Coram, a Seattle resident and cancer survivor who led the Washington team at the Leadership Summit and Lobby Day, called for a “full and unwavering commitment from Congress to take action.”
“Roughly 1 in 3 people in the US will hear the words ‘you have cancer’ in their lifetime,” Coram wrote in a news release. “We want our lawmakers to know that volunteers from Washington, and from every state across the country, are counting on them to take a stand.”
Grainger has experienced the devastation of cancer up close — in 2018 she lost her best friend to sarcoma only two months before giving birth to her son, and she’s now helping her father navigate the complexities of care and management for Stage 4 lung cancer.
Her loved ones’ battles with cancer, her own experience with a rare chronic illness, and a stint working in health care communications during COVID-19 all fueled Grainger’s passion for cancer advocacy.
She believes in-person advocacy work makes a difference.
“They remember you,” she said about the lawmakers she has met with multiple times through the years. “I really believe that just sharing your perspective and speaking for people who can’t — being there to tell their story and put emphasis on the human aspect — it makes all the difference.”
Even in the time since her friend died, Grainger has seen significant advancements in cancer care. Her hope is that by the time her child reaches adulthood, “things will look dramatically different in terms of care and treatment” and that cancer will have become another chronic illness rather than the second leading cause of death nationally and globally.
“I live with a chronic disease and manage it every day,” Grainger said. “Cancer is not something you can just manage. It’s up and down every day and even when you’re in remission, you’re wondering — what will I be dealing with tomorrow? It leaves a resounding impact on your body and there are not enough conversations about what that looks like or how to get through it.”
Grainger said it’s easy to get involved as a legislative ambassador by visiting fightcancer.org. She would love to have a bigger team of volunteers to advocate on behalf of local patients and families at the state house in Olympia.
“The more constituents who show up, the more attention it draws,” she said.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
