Melissa Horn first knew something was wrong when she lost her voice during her senior year in high school. A visit to the doctor confirmed a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Last month, fourteen years after her diagnosis, Melissa spoke at a briefing in the U.S. Capitol to share her story of being a childhood cancer survivor.
The Capitol Hill briefing, organized by ACS CAN and the Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy, highlighted issues that affect childhood cancer patients and survivors.
Childhood cancer patients and survivors face grueling medical treatments, potentially exorbitant out-of-pocket costs for medical and travel expenses and a lifetime of doctor’s visits and chronic health conditions.
At the briefing, Melissa urged elected officials to stand beside her and all childhood cancer survivors to make access to coverage and treatment a top priority.
Melissa said, “I urge you to consider my story whenever you are making decisions and to fund important research to understand the plight and the hardship of what people facing major diseases go through.”
Melissa said she became an ACS CAN volunteer to ensure that no other child is silenced by childhood cancer.
“Completing chemotherapy and radiation is hard enough, but being a childhood cancer survivor means I face a lifetime of vigilance in working with doctors to stay on top of critical screenings to ensure I stay in remission,” Melissa said.
Over 60% of childhood cancer survivors go on to experience a chronic health condition later in their life.
The STAR Act, a bill currently pending in Congress, would help address this problem by funding research to study the long-term effects of childhood cancer treatments and develop new, less toxic cancer treatments for children.