Protect the future of cancer treatment in Idaho
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 3 weeks AGO
For Idaho’s nearly 100,000 cancer survivors, remission can be a hopeful but also agonizing period of uncertainty. A patient’s cancer journey is rarely linear, and the risk of cancer returning can be high, underscoring why having a comprehensive range of treatment options across every stage is so important.
The good news is that recent scientific developments, such as the new mRNA vaccine for melanoma that’s stirred excitement across America, could signal the beginning of a new, more targeted approach to fight cancer. The vaccine is customized to each patient’s unique tumor, with late-stage results indicating it reduces the risk of recurrence for advanced melanoma patients. This same treatment is being tested against a range of other types of cancer as well.
Major breakthroughs like this reinforce why recent state legislative attempts to ban mRNA vaccines would be a disservice to Idahoans fighting for their lives. We should agree that patients must have the absolute freedom to choose the treatments that work best for them, without the government getting involved.
As innovation in medicine continues to leap forward America, Idahoans battling serious diseases stand to benefit. Our lawmakers shouldn’t stand in the way of that possibility of a healthier future.
DR. JOHN MITCHELL, MD, MPH
Post Falls