Cancer Care

Urged on by President Barack Obama, Democratic leaders in the House hustled Thursday to round up support for a sweeping healthcare overhaul headed to a close floor vote Saturday.

The House drive for healthcare reform, Obama’s top domestic priority, was bolstered Thursday by the backing of the American Medical Association, which represents U.S. doctors, and AARP, the powerful lobbying group for older Americans.

“I urge Congress to listen to the AARP, listen to the AMA, and pass this reform for hundreds of millions of Americans,'’ Obama said in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. “We are closer to passing this reform than ever before.'’
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Patrick Sullivan was just 10 when his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time he was totally naive about the nature of the disease - and its possible outcome.

“All I knew was that my mom was sick and had to go get treatment at a hospital once a month,” said Sullivan, who is now 24 and lives in Framingham. “Those days of her treatment, my mom would come home and stay in bed and my dad and I would get her an ice cream sundae to make her feel better.”

After getting all the recommended treatments, Sullivan said his mom, JoAnne, seemed cured. Sullivan went on to attend Bryant University and, on his mom’s 10th anniversary of being cancer-free, he participated in the school’s Relay for Life and raised about $8,000.

But soon after reaching her cancer milestone, Sullivan said his mom went to the doctor complaining of back pain only to learn that her cancer had spread to her spine.
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