Dr. Whitney Jones is on a mission to remove the high cost of colonosocpy as a barrier to widespread colon cancer screening. As a native of Kentucky, he has a passion for ensuring the health of his fellow Kentuckians.
Finding His Way to Colon Cancer Activism
Dr. Jones isn't a colon cancer specialist by training or practice. His medical practice focuses heavily on pancreatic and liver disease. He performs plenty of endoscopies too.
An endoscopy is a procedure used to examine the upper GI tract, such as the esophagus and stomach. This is different from a colonoscopy or a flexible sigmoidoscopy. These tests examine the lower GI tract, including the colon and rectum.
But Dr. Jones had an "ah ha" moment about colon cancer prevention in 2004. "I was looking at cancer statistics online and noticed that Kentucky had made zero progress on addressing colorectal cancer rates in the state. Despite this, none of the groups involved in cancer control and prevention had a specific program to address colon cancer," he explains.
Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is
At that moment, Dr. Jones made up his mind to make a difference. He had some money set aside that he was planning to donate to charity. Instead, he decided to start his own 501c3 (non-profit) organization called The Colon Cancer Prevention Project. A friend with accounting experience helped him set it up.
Immediately, Dr. Jones steered the organization toward educating doctors about colon cancer screening. The Colon Cancer Prevention Project sent educational mailings and kits to promote colon cancer screening by the medical community. The group organized a colon cancer walk and began working with other cancer organizations in the state. They wanted to tackle the problem of low rates of colon cancer screening and high rates of colon cancer diagnosis in Kentucky.
Hitting the Big Time
In 2007, Dr. Jones connected with legislators. He contacted a noted Washington lobbyist, Charlie Grizzle. He hoped to get earmarks for colon cancer screening in Kentucky. Earmarks are money in the government budget (state or federal) that are set aside for a specific purpose.
"Charlie," says Dr. Jones with a chuckle, "told us to get our ducks in a row. He told us to do our groundwork." This led Dr. Jones to begin working with a Kentucky state representative, Tom Burch. Tom was on board immediately and suggested they write legislation to address colon cancer in Kentucky.
The Difference Between Advocacy and Engagement
Between January and April of 2008, The Colon Cancer Prevention Project worked hard to pass a colon cancer screening bill. While the bill was a great success, there was one problem. It still wasn't funded. But Kentucky House Bill 415 (HB415) did create an advisory committee, which Dr. Jones now chairs.
The committee worked to increase awareness of colon cancer and set up a program to provide access to free colon cancer screening for low-income individuals. Now all that was needed was the money to put the program into practice.
Valuable Partnerships
To further press the case for funding the screening program, Dr. Jones teamed up with Paul Hopkins, The Health Department Director for Pike County, Kentucky. Paul's brother had died of colon cancer, so he knew first hand the importance of screening and early detection.
With his focus and experience in public health, Paul was able to push the funding question harder. He was able to get everyone at the table to agree it was worth spending tax dollars to fund the program. Unfortunately, the program hit another stumbling block at this point.
Despite initial approval for $600,000 to fund the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening Program, the Kentucky senate did not ultimately finalize approval for the funding in the current budget year. But Dr. Jones and his colleagues did make progress on two fronts.
First, the Colon Cancer Prevention Project worked with the Louisville Health Department to promote local initiatives on colon cancer screening. Through this partnership, 1,800 people have gone through the screening program and 400 are signed up for colonoscopy so far.
The project also worked hard to convince Kentucky legislators from four, economically hard hit counties in Appalachia to set aside $200,000 for screening. Dr. Jones points out that the closer you work to home, vs. lobbying in Washington DC, the more likely you are to get those colonoscopies funded. In the end, all politics are local.
Tricks Up His Sleeves
After all this hard work, Dr. Jones isn't about to rest on his laurels. He has big plans for the future. Says Dr. Jones, "We need to lobby against this disease. Cancer is political. Funding for cancer programs is not always by logic. We have to raise awareness about colorectal cancer to get the money this program deserves."
Despite a few setbacks, Dr. Jones is focusing on the big picture. His ultimate goal is to launch a state-wide, fully-funded colon cancer screening program. But he's getting there in steps. The first focus will be on groups that have traditionally lacked access to good health care and consistent cancer screening programs, including the urban poor in Louisville and those living in Appalachia.
Dr. Jones says he has a few more tricks up his sleeves to get the funding for the statewide colon cancer screening program he envisions. As he points out, "If this isn't public health, I don't know what is!"
