Caregiver Speaks Out Against Cancer Care Inequities

Primo Castro, American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) advocate, speaks out to share his story  and what his home state is doing through legislative efforts to help expand access to specialized cancer care for patients on Medi-Cal as his mom had been.   Potentially life-saving treatment for her rare condition of gallbladder cancer was inaccessible  to her because she was a patient on Medi-Cal.

Primo Castro’s mother was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer in 2004 when he was just 23. Rather than pursue a career in Washington, he returned home to the Los Angeles Area to be her personal caregiver. As his mother’s  condition worsened, he sought the care of a clinical trial at comprehensive cancer center, but the trial was inaccessible for patients on Medi-Cal. His mother sadly passed away later that year, unable to access potentially lifesaving treatments for a relatively rare condition.  While Primo can’t be sure of how a different course of treatment would have impacted her outcomes, it left a lot of unanswered questions and what ifs. What did become clear was that there were inequities in the system – that Medi-Cal patients didn’t get the best treatments  and were not afforded the same level of care as private plans. This is why he is now passionate about sharing his story and supporting the California Cancer Care Equity Act.