When the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network organized its annual citizen lobby day in Washington last month, more than 500 volunteers\u00a0pushed members of Congress\u00a0to keep cancer research and support for cancer patients at the top of the nation\u2019s health care agenda.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It came as Democrats and Republicans in Washington\u00a0headed toward a\u00a0budget impasse\u00a0over extending\u00a0the\u00a0enhanced subsidies<\/a>\u00a0that help millions of people\u00a0maintain\u00a0Affordable Care Act coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n But these volunteers transcended politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mary Catherine Johnson is a retired\u00a0small-business\u00a0owner from outside Rochester, New York. She voted for Donald Trump three times.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lexy Mealing, who used to work in a physician\u2019s office, is from Long Island.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0a Democrat.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the two women share a bond: They both survived breast cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot one person here discussed if you\u2019re a Democrat, if you\u2019re a Republican,\u201d said Mealing, one of 27 volunteers from New York. \u201cCancer doesn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n Every volunteer had been touched in some way by cancer, which is expected to kill\u00a0more than\u00a0600,000<\/a>\u00a0people\u00a0in the U.S. this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Johnson said each of her mother\u2019s 10 siblings died from cancer. She said\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0worried about the state of politics today. \u201cI think we\u2019re probably the most divided that we\u2019ve ever been,\u201d she said. \u201cThat scares me. Scares me for my grandchildren.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Americans are indeed split over many issues \u2014 immigration, guns, President Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet in\u00a0one recent survey<\/a>,\u00a07 in\u00a010 voters said it\u2019s very important for the federal government to fund medical research. That included majorities of Democrats and Republicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost everybody in this country knows somebody who\u2019s had cancer,\u201d said Jarrett Lewis, a Republican pollster who conducted the survey for patient groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n A recent\u00a0KFF poll<\/a>\u00a0found that three-quarters of U.S. adults, including most Republicans who align with the Make\u00a0America\u00a0Great\u00a0Again\u00a0movement, want Congress to extend subsidies that help Americans buy health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces. KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.\u00a0<\/p>\n These subsidies, which are critical to people with chronic illnesses such as cancer, are a sticking point in the budget\u00a0showdown\u00a0in Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n The army of volunteers\u00a0\u2014\u00a0from every state\u00a0\u2014\u00a0hit 484 of the 535 Senate and House offices.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not every visit was an unqualified victory. Many Republican lawmakers object to extending the insurance subsidies, arguing\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0too costly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lawmakers from both parties have backed increased research funding and support for more cancer screening.\u00a0<\/p>\n When evening came, the volunteers met on the National Mall for a candlelight vigil.\u00a0<\/p>\n John Manna, another New Yorker, is a self-described Reagan Republican whose father died from lung cancer. He reflected on lessons this\u00a0day\u00a0could offer a divided nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGet to know each other as people,\u201d he said, \u201cand then you can understand somebody\u2019s positions. \u200aWe have little disagreements, but,\u00a0you know, we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0attack each other. We talk.\u201d<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n