Pending bills would remove insurance barriers to certain cancer screenings and treatment [Video]

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -No one wants to delay cancer treatments. However, insurance and costs stand in the way of quick treatment in some cases. Lawmakers have the chance to cut some of the red tape.

Many of your families know the journey that starts with that all-familiar scan.

“The mammogram was the start point,” said breast cancer survivor Jasmine Samuel.

An estimated 12% of patients are asked to go back for follow-up imaging after an abnormal mammogram. It doesn’t necessarily signal cancer, but that next scan is needed to rule it out or confirm it.

“We went from mammogram to they also did an ultrasound, from an ultrasound and led to a biopsy,’ explained Samuel. “And then from the biopsy is what led to the diagnosis. So that’s why it is so important for patients to be able to follow that process fluidly.”

We also spoke with survivor Tracy Gallagher.

“If I had not gotten additional testing, …