Editorial USA TODAY network – FLORIDA – Casey DeSantis case should spur reforms

Cancer can strike anyone, at any time. That's a message we've been hearing for most of our lives – followed by the reminder that early detection and treatment offer the best hope of a full recovery. And it was underscored by last week's announcement that Florida's first lady, Casey DeSantis, has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The news leaves many who've looked to her as a role model apprehensive.

At the same time it stirs hope that her circumstances will stir Florida leaders, her husband first among them, to adjust their policies to help others of lesser means.

The statement didn't say how advanced DeSantis' case is, or what treatment options she is considering (details she has every right to keep private), but we hope she benefits from some of the innovative treatments for breast cancer that have emerged over the past few years.

Inspiring advocate

During her nearly three years as a first lady, DeSantis has been a visible and enthusiastic presence across Florida – raising awareness, eschewing divisiveness, inspiring others and reinforcing her standing as someone who passionately cares about our state and its citizens.

A mother of three as well as a public figure, she has carried out her work as an ambassador for the state with grace.

She has consistently used her platform as a force to unite Floridians, from successfully advocating for more mental health programs through her Hope for Healing Initiative to promoting greater broadband access for hundreds of thousands of low-income families amid the COVID pandemic.

It is – as her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, acknowledged, a tough fight. But there are options that didn't exist even five years ago and ways to minimize the brutal side effects of the most common treatment options.

Unfortunately, that innovation can't help someone who doesn't know they have cancer. And over the past year-and-a-half, the number of routine cancer screenings has plummeted.

According to the American Cancer Society, routine screenings are down by one-third across the nation – which translates into nearly 22 million screenings either canceled or missed between June and March of 2020.

The American Journal of Managed Care reported in October that early in the pandemic, "screenings for breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancers were lower by 85%, 75%, 74%, and 56%, respectively."

More people are getting screened now, but the rate still isn't anywhere near pre-COVID levels. And there could be a serious toll: The National Cancer Institute has projected that, over the next 10 years, more than 10,000 additional people will die of common cancers because of pandemic-related delayed or skipped screenings.

Don't compound COVID's deadly toll. Get caught up with your cancer tests – including mammograms – as soon as possible.

Looking forward

We feel for the first lady – and for all those women and men in similar circumstances.

We must also acknowledge, however, that state actions and failures to act have an undeniable impact on others throughout Florida who do not have her advantages.

How many Florida residents have gone without preventative care, diagnostic testing and adequate treatment in recent years, because they can't afford health insurance?

In leaving billions of federal Medicaid expansion dollars on the table, Gov. DeSantis and Gov. Rick Scott before him have let tens of thousands of vulnerable, lower-income Floridians go unprotected in ways they would not deign to abandon their own families.

They fought the Affordable Care Act, which covers more than 2.1 million Floridians, tooth and nail. And despite the sustained, overwhelming popularity of the ACA, Florida's Republican leaders continue to play political games while thousands of Casey DeSantises with far fewer resources remain without insurance.

We hope that among the many people Mrs. DeSantis inspires during her breast cancer battle will be her husband, to finally expand Medicaid and give poorer women access to life-saving breast cancer screenings.

This was written by the editorial boards of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Sarasota Herald-Tribune and The Palm Beach Post.