Local Relay for Life activists to join peers from across Kansas to lobby in Topeka

A group of Bourbon County activists in the fight against cancer are scheduled to take their concerns to the Kansas Legislature next month.

The 2008 Kansas Lobby Day, sponsored by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, is scheduled to take place Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008, at the State Capitol in Topeka. Several ACS volunteers and staff, Relay for Life members, and other cancer activists from all across the state attend the event each year to urge elected officials to support policies that help prevent and fight cancer.

The event will also allow advocates from across Kansas to tell their personal stories on how cancer has affected their lives, and to share those stories with lawmakers. The rotunda at the State Capitol Building will be lighted by several luminaries, as advocates continue to push for increased funding of tobacco cessation and prevention programs, access to life-saving colorectal cancer screenings, and other issues that make a difference in the lives of Kansas residents, an ACS statement said.

Local resident and Bourbon County Relay for Life member Joy O'Neal, who is a breast cancer survivor and long-time cancer activist and lobbyist, said she plans to attend the event once again this year, and hopes to organize a local group to make the trip. The Relay for Life is an annual fundraiser sponsored by the ACS to raise money for cancer research, education, advocacy, and other services.

Those interested in joining O'Neal for the trip are invited and encouraged to do so, and can may call her at (620) 223-2000 for more information.

During the event, advocates will focus on issues such as funding of colorectal cancer screenings by insurance companies in Kansas to lessen the burden on the patient; legislation to raise the state-wide tobacco tax; and money (about $15 million) that will come into the state in April 2008 that could be used each year toward a comprehensive tobacco program.

The ACS currently receives about $56 million each year from a master settlement agreement reached in 1998 by the four largest tobacco companies and all 50 states to pay state governments for tobacco-related health and medical costs and tobacco prevention programs.

CRC is one form of cancer that can be prevented if people are screened more frequently. ACS officials said that the costs to an insurance company to screen an individual are a fraction of what treatment costs for someone who has been diagnosed with some type of cancer.

One of the group's main focuses in the past has been to persuade lawmakers to allocate money toward cancer research and related programs across the state, since the ACS only receives funding from the federal government. The group also plans to encourage lawmakers to support a bill that would raise the tobacco tax in Kansas, which is below the average when compared to other states. A higher tobacco tax could mean a lower percentage of adult smokers, and therefore lower state health care costs, officials said.

Other state legislation is on the organization's agenda for 2008.

A hearing on Senate Bill 198, a colorectal cancer screening assurance bill, did not occur this year. Lawmakers plan to examine this legislation more closely in 2008 to evaluate the bill before voting on it. That bill would require insurance companies to pay for cancer screenings as they now do for mammograms and pap smears, officials said.

Senate Bill 318, which deals with the master settlement agreement concerning tobacco cessation and prevention programs, is also an issue that is expected to arise during the upcoming legislative session.

The Kansas Attorney General's Office is concerned that tobacco companies could potentially withhold allotted state funds, and cautioned the Legislature not to spend money from the agreement before it arrived in the state. Therefore, there will be no discussion on the issue until it is certain the state funds will be received, the ACS statement said.

Senate Bill 37, a statewide comprehensive plan to ban smoking in public indoor places, such as bars and restaurants, was delayed during the 2007 legislative session. The ACS continues to work with its coalition partners and local leaders across the state to secure clean indoor air in statewide establishments. On Jan. 2, 2008, five Kansas communities will enact smoke-free ordinances. Twenty-three Kansas communities have already passed smoke-free legislation, the ACS statement said.

SB 37 stalled earlier this year after officials discovered flaws in the bill, preventing it from making its way to the full Senate. That legislation, if approved with certain provisions, could put the decision on whether a particular county becomes smoke-free in the hands of the voters.

Other legislation the ACS supports includes the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which would place restrictions on marketing tobacco products to children and decrease youth access to tobacco products. Tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths and will kill about 440,000 Americans next year. More than one million Americans are diagnosed with cancer, and more than 560,000 die from the disease each year, the ACS statement said.

For more information about Kansas Lobby Day, or to learn about getting involved with advocacy efforts, contact ACS Kansas Grassroots Manager Vicki Conner at (785) 438-5612, or e-mail her at vicki.conner@cancer.org.