"Oh, wait, this is something I... I mean people... actually need?"
IRMA - A state lawmaker from Lincoln County who once opposed a bill that would force insurers to cover chemotherapy pills says she changed her position after she learned she has cancer.
Mary Czaja, R-Irma, the state representative for the 35th Assembly District, said her view on the bill - which could take effect next year - began to change in January. That’s when she began her own battle with stage 3 breast cancer.
“I’m not a big mandate person,” said Czaja, who spent the bulk of her career in the insurance industry. “After a long conversation with my doctor, I started to think about the issue in a new way. It’s not just the affordability factor; it’s about helping people get back to normal and get back to work.”
Czaja and other members of the Assembly early Friday passed an amended version of a Senate bill that aims to make cancer treatment more affordable by requiring insurance companies to cover chemotherapy pills in the same way they do intravenous treatments. The Assembly scaled back the bill by adding a copayment for some cancer patients, with a $100 cap on monthly costs.
The bill, sent back to the Senate for reconsideration, could save patients battling cancer tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The diagnosis that prompted Czaja’s support for the Assembly bill came as a surprise to the 50-year-old lawmaker, who already battled breast cancer once before - and thought she’d won. Ten years ago, Czaja had both breasts removed after pre-cancerous cells were detected in the milk ducts of her left breast. The tests and her family history of breast cancer guided her decision.
After Czaja’s diagnosis in 2004 and her double mastectomy, she thought she was safe. That all changed three months ago, when Czaja felt a sudden, stabbing pain in her right shoulder while attending a Las Vegas seminar. The pain quickly went away, only to return four days later on a flight back to Madison, she said.
“I can only describe the pain as excruciating,” Czaja said. “I thought one of my prosthetic breasts had torn away. I never in a million years thought I had cancer.”
Scans taken at a Madison hospital revealed Cjaza was indeed suffering from metastatic cancer, which means the cancer spread to other areas of her body. The treatment: two months of chemotherapy, possible surgery and up to eight weeks of radiation. So far, Cjaza has undergone two weeks of chemotherapy, which she calls “extremely exhausting.”
A diagnosis of breast cancer following a mastectomy is rare, but not unheard of, according to the American Cancer Society website. A bilateral, or double, mastectomy can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 95 percent, according to the website.
Despite the pain, nausea and exhaustion, Czaja has found new determination to fight for other cancer patients struggling to pay for potentially lifesaving treatment.
The Assembly’s version of the bill passed 75-18. Laurel Patrick, spokeswoman for Walker, said the governor will sign the bill if it passes in the Senate, which had not imposed a copayment.
Czaja said she has no plans to leave the Assembly and will kick off her re-election campaign next month. By sharing her story, Czaja said, she hopes more women will pay closer attention to their bodies and their health.
“I did everything right, but still the cancer was somehow able to sneak back in,” she said. “We as women can be such caretakers that we don’t take time to care for ourselves.”
Sauce.
Mary Czaja, R-Irma, the state representative for the 35th Assembly District, said her view on the bill - which could take effect next year - began to change in January. That’s when she began her own battle with stage 3 breast cancer.
“I’m not a big mandate person,” said Czaja, who spent the bulk of her career in the insurance industry. “After a long conversation with my doctor, I started to think about the issue in a new way. It’s not just the affordability factor; it’s about helping people get back to normal and get back to work.”
Czaja and other members of the Assembly early Friday passed an amended version of a Senate bill that aims to make cancer treatment more affordable by requiring insurance companies to cover chemotherapy pills in the same way they do intravenous treatments. The Assembly scaled back the bill by adding a copayment for some cancer patients, with a $100 cap on monthly costs.
The bill, sent back to the Senate for reconsideration, could save patients battling cancer tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The diagnosis that prompted Czaja’s support for the Assembly bill came as a surprise to the 50-year-old lawmaker, who already battled breast cancer once before - and thought she’d won. Ten years ago, Czaja had both breasts removed after pre-cancerous cells were detected in the milk ducts of her left breast. The tests and her family history of breast cancer guided her decision.
After Czaja’s diagnosis in 2004 and her double mastectomy, she thought she was safe. That all changed three months ago, when Czaja felt a sudden, stabbing pain in her right shoulder while attending a Las Vegas seminar. The pain quickly went away, only to return four days later on a flight back to Madison, she said.
“I can only describe the pain as excruciating,” Czaja said. “I thought one of my prosthetic breasts had torn away. I never in a million years thought I had cancer.”
Scans taken at a Madison hospital revealed Cjaza was indeed suffering from metastatic cancer, which means the cancer spread to other areas of her body. The treatment: two months of chemotherapy, possible surgery and up to eight weeks of radiation. So far, Cjaza has undergone two weeks of chemotherapy, which she calls “extremely exhausting.”
A diagnosis of breast cancer following a mastectomy is rare, but not unheard of, according to the American Cancer Society website. A bilateral, or double, mastectomy can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 95 percent, according to the website.
Despite the pain, nausea and exhaustion, Czaja has found new determination to fight for other cancer patients struggling to pay for potentially lifesaving treatment.
The Assembly’s version of the bill passed 75-18. Laurel Patrick, spokeswoman for Walker, said the governor will sign the bill if it passes in the Senate, which had not imposed a copayment.
Czaja said she has no plans to leave the Assembly and will kick off her re-election campaign next month. By sharing her story, Czaja said, she hopes more women will pay closer attention to their bodies and their health.
“I did everything right, but still the cancer was somehow able to sneak back in,” she said. “We as women can be such caretakers that we don’t take time to care for ourselves.”
Sauce.