When I started my blog 4 and a 1/2 years ago I wanted to create a platform to provide support and encouragement to young women like me going through breast cancer at a young age. Over the years I have had the honor to use my blog and social media to provide all of you with inspirational content, my roller coaster of experiences through cancer, and infertility, and I have used this platform to advocate for change in the breast cancer and healthcare communities.

This year, I have chosen to take my platform to a new level of advocacy by working with Piedmont Rising to bring light to the rising cost of health care for North Carolinians and how we can use our voices together to push for change and demand more from our leaders. 

We all think everything is fine and we won’t need health care or insurance until we do. That was me in 2015. I was in the best shape of my life: eating vegan, exercising daily, never broke a bone and had never needed serious medical care. Then, at 27 years old I was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer. In a matter of minutes my world changed forever. Suddenly I was at the mercy of the health care system and sadly the first thought to cross my mind after my own mortality was the financial impact of a life threatening illness. 

Through my cancer journey, my eyes were opened to the extreme financial detriment of illness on our community specifically those in North Carolina. Seeing the bills roll in from my mastectomy, reconstruction and chemotherapy and subsequent hormone-blocking treatment were enough to give even the most financially stable person a heart attack. In the first six months of my treatment, my bills exceeded $100,000.

Due to rising premiums, increased prescription costs and limited many North Carolinians are forced to choose between medical care/prescriptions and paying their bills. Time and time I hear stories of those in my community who forgo screening or medical treatments and life-saving medications due to the rising costs and lack of coverage.

In the breast cancer world this is particularly common when it comes to the hormone blocking medication, fertility drugs and metastatic breast cancer drugs. When transitioning to one of my maintenance medications following chemotherapy, one of my drugs was called into a specialty pharmacy. Before shipping the medication the company called me to get approval for the co-pay – $25,000!!!!! This is unacceptable. No one should have to choose between taking a medication that will extend their life and the ability to pay bills, feed their children and put a roof over their head. 

Now, I was lucky enough to have amazing health insurance, receive discounts from drug companies, grants from non-profits and support from family and friends but 5 years later we are still paying off medical bills related to my treatment and subsequent medical issues. Medical bills and prescription expenses will impact me for the rest of my life and never again will I get to be naïve to the impact of political decisions on healthcare access and costs.  

I no longer feel comfortable sitting by while my community is taken advantage of.  We never think illness will happen to us, but sadly cancer and illness doesn’t discriminate. It happened to me, and it can happen to you or someone you love. 

This is where my partnership with Piedmont Rising  comes in. Piedmont Rising is an advocacy organization built by and for North Carolinians to encourage elected officials to defend North Carolinians, including access to affordable health care. I have decided to work with Piedmont Rising over the next six months to share my own health story in order to influence the policy debate and encourage our elected officials to lower health care costs and increase access in North Carolina.

I am excited to share more about this amazing partnership over the next six months and I hope you will join the conversation and share your own unique experiences. Together we can advocate for the access to affordable health care for all North Carolinians and demand better from our leaders. 

Learn more and join the movement by sharing your healthcare story in the comments.