This INSANITY has to stop! Why do POLITICIANS, INSURANCE CO'S, or anyone OTHER than YOURSEL, get to DECIDE or DICTATE how you CHOOSE to HEAL YOURSELF?

Tori Geib, advocate to end 'fail-first' cancer drug treatment policies, dies at 35

A Columbus-area advocate for changes to cancer treatment has died.

Tori Geib, 35, of Bellefontaine, died Nov. 1 after nearly five years fighting advanced breast cancer.

Geib was first diagnosed the week of her 30th birthday with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, meaning the disease had spread to other organs, including her spine and brain.

Around 75% of people with metastatic breast cancer like Geib die in less than five years, Geib told The Dispatch in 2020. Geib didn't let that statistic or the diagnosis slow her down though.

Geib pushed for changes to state law that forced some cancer patients, including herself, to "fail first" on cheaper, less effective treatments. The requirement to "fail first" is something historically pushed by insurance companies to save money.

Cancer-drug shortage: Shortage of abraxane frustrates patients, providers alike

"My cancer could have been stabilized," Geib said in December. "Knowing that the science was there and everything was lined up except for the insurance … it almost seems criminal to do that to people."

Despite the setback, Geib pushed the state legislature to ensure no one else would have to "fail first."

On Dec. 21, Geib's efforts paid off when Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law Senate Bill 252, prohibiting fail-first drug coverage policies for stage 4 metastatic cancer patients. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Bob Hackett, R-London, and state Sen. Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, spent the previous year in the Statehouse.

Tori Geib became 'a voice for patients with metastatic breast cancer'

Geib was a patient at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital and credited doctors there with helping her to navigate her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Bhuvana Ramaswamy, who leads the breast medical oncology team at Ohio State called Geib "an inspiration" for those who were diagnosed with cancer.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/tori-geib-advocate-end-fail-111055892.html