LYNCHBURG, VA – Twelve years ago, Leecy Fink found herself in a doctor’s office, hearing the unthinkable—she had stage four breast cancer.
The doctors caught it late. And in no time at all, it had spread to her lungs and brain.
“I had two children in diapers at the time, and a lot of times, breast tumors are mistaken during the time that you might be breastfeeding a baby. So mine was overlooked,” Fink said.
Have the day's biggest stories arrive in your inbox every day at 8 p.m.
House
Fink has no sign of active disease, but the weight of her fight remains with her every day.
With four daughters and now two granddaughters, Leecy’s mission to raise awareness has never been more personal or more urgent.
“I said that I would always do everything in my power to make sure that my children never walk in these shoes. And part of that is advocacy,” she said.
Fink joined dozens of other survivors last week at the General Assembly - where the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation met with lawmakers to push for a bill that holds insurance companies accountable.
“To encourage, actually, force insurance companies to pay for diagnostic testing,” she said.
Testing is expensive - causing some women to forgo it altogether.
“When you put off a test what that means is you’re often farther along in your breast cancer when it’s diagnosed,” Fink said.
The bill passed the House Thursday with incredible bipartisan support. Friday, it passed the House Appropriations Committee.
Next week, house delegates will take a final vote.
“I was so touched by the number of delegates, and legislative assistants, and administrative assistants who had either faced breast cancer themselves or had a family member,” Fink said.
Fink tells us she knows early detection would have changed the course of her life.
“99% of women who are diagnosed early are still here in five years,” she said.
She will never stop fighting - for those who share in her journey, and for those who lost their fight.
“I’m from a family with lots of girls, you’re from a family with lots of girls. It really is making a difference not just in my life, but in the lives of my children, in the lives of your aunts, in the lives of your sister,” Fink said.
A new report from the American Cancer Society Action Network highlights that more than 70% of people with commercial insurance still have to pay out-of-pocket for follow-up diagnostic tests.
If these costs were eliminated, it would save the U.S. around $2.2 billion in breast cancer treatment costs.
