Letter to the editor: Good news for patients — and a reminder of what’s at stake

TO THE EDITOR:

As school nurses, we are often the first and sometimes the only healthcare professional a child or family turns to for healthcare concerns and education. We see students who, with access to effective treatment, are able to manage chronic illness as part of their daily life. When a family receives a difficult diagnosis, we offer them hope with resources and education when navigating the healthcare finance system.

News of a new pancreatic cancer breakthrough shared at last month’s cancer conference gives us the hope we need from medical research. Clinical trial data from a new pancreatic cancer treatment showed average survival rates doubled, which is remarkable progress for a disease that is almost always caught late and has historically offered patients very little reason for optimism. This kind of innovation is both a medical milestone and a reason for families we serve who have been touched by this and other chronic diseases to trust the need for funding groundbreaking pharmaceutical research.

Progress like this is the result of years of dedicated research, rigorous testing and significant investment in science that takes a long time to pay off. This is another example of how the United States has built a research environment that makes breakthroughs like this possible, and that environment deserves to be protected thoughtfully as policymakers consider changes to how medicines are developed and priced.

As leaders in Washington debate healthcare policy, we simply ask that they keep patients at the center of those conversations. Affordability matters deeply to the families we serve.

So does ensuring that the next generation of treatments continues to be developed. Both goals are worth pursuing, and careful, balanced policy can achieve both.

Pamela Dinapoli, associate professor-emerita and president of the NH School Nurses Association

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