Senator Tammy Baldwin (D–Wisc.) fights to secure funding for Medicaid and raises awareness for cancer patients who rely on the program. Baldwin also vigorously champions cancer research and the National Institutes of Health.

 

Such advocacy is crucial today, as the Trump administration defunds and dismantles the federal health department and Congress seeks more aggressive cuts in the 2026 budget. As our News roundup on page 4 recounts, Americans are taking to the streets in protest. At ACT UP’s Death by 1,000 Musk Cuts march and die-in, one activist carried a cardboard tombstone inscribed with the phrase “Died of Untreated Breast Cancer.”

 

Protesters and legislators may represent the more in-your-face variety of patient advocates, but count­less others are assisting people living with cancer: doctors and oncology nurses, fundraisers, social workers, support group leaders and more. In our sixth annual Cancer Health 25, we salute patient advocates. Go here to get inspired.

 

Patient advocates abound throughout our pages. The cover story profiles Daniel Garza, who has survived anal cancer, HIV and addiction thanks in part to his (slightly sick!) sense of humor, which he also employs to educate, raise awareness and advocate for others. Former nurse and hospital volunteer Susan Pack shares her Melanoma Diary. Our Your Team column interviews the HealthWell Foundation’s Fred Larbi about financial help for cancer patients. And for our Can Heal profile, Barb Skurdahl shares advice on thriving with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

 

As always, we round up the latest care and treatment headlines. You’ll learn about nerve-sparing prostate cancer surgery, vaccines to lower the recurrence of pancreatic and kidney cancers and chilled gloves that may help prevent peripheral neuropathy. And we seek your input in our Survey. This issue’s topic, as you might have guessed, is advocacy. Finally, Solutions offers self-care tips for cancer advocates.