Breast Cancer Caucus 2026 – Save Science. Protect Care. End Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer patients and families are at a crucial turning point. Political decisions are threatening access to care, women’s health, and scientific research that saves lives. This election will help shape who gets care, what research advances, and whose voices matter. Breast cancer advocates must meet the moment and ensure that candidates prioritize policies that will end this disease.

Read our 2026 Policy Platform

Candidates: Sign our Platform Here

See Who Signed Our Platform

Last updated 8/19/26

Alabama

Amanda Pusczek (AL-04)

Arkansas

James “Rus” Russell, III (AR-04)

Terri Yarbough Green (AR-01)

California

Jeff Frese (CA-10)

Rudy Recile (CA-08)

Colorado

Manny Rutinel (CO-08)

Georgia

Jonathan Chavez (GA-13)

Kevin Martin (GA-06)

Pamela Delancy (GA-10)

Dr. Kelly Esti (GA-08)

Maura Keller (GA-03)

Idaho

Kaylee Peterson (ID-01)

Illinois

Donna Miller (IL-02)

Indiana

Drew Cox (IN-04)

Jamee Decio (IN-02)

Brad Meyer (IN-09)

Iowa

Christina Bohannan (IA-01)

Michael Bridgford (IA-01)

David Bushaw (IA-02)

Nicholas Gluba, Gubernatorial candidate

Lindsay James (IA-02)

Joe Mitchell (IA-02)

Zach Nunn (IA-03)

Rob Sand, Gubernatorial candidate

Kentucky

Ned Pillersdorf (KY-05)

Melissa Strange (KY-04)

John “Drew” Williams (KY-01)

Meg Wingfield (KY-02)

Maine

Troy Jackson (US Senate)

Maryland

Dan Schwartz (MD-01)

Robin Ficker (MD-06)

New Hampshire

Carleigh Beriont (NH-01)

Chris Pappas (NH-01)

New Jersey

Joseph Hathaway (NJ-11)

Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ-07)

Michael McGuire (NJ-03)

New York

Paul Tonko (NY-20)

North Carolina

Jamie Ager (NC-11)

Ashley Bell (NC-10)

Eugene Douglass (NC-02)

Travis Groo (NC-11)

Cyril Jefferson (NC-06)

Steven Swinton (NC-13)

North Dakota

Trygve Hammer (ND-AL)

Montana

Michael Eisenhauer (MT-02)

Ohio

Ohio – Joyce Beatty (OH-03)

Jerrad Christian (OH-12)

Sandeep Dixit (OH-13)

Jen Mazzuckelli (OH-02)
Brian A. Shaver (OH-05)

Oklahoma

Brandon Wade (OK-02)

Pennsylvania

Beth Farnham (PA-13)

South Carolina

Eunice Lehmacher (SC-03)

John Gregory Vincent (SC-07)

South Dakota

Nikki Gronli (SD-AL)

Texas

Dan Barrios (TX-32)

Thurman Bill Bartie (TX-14)

Justin Early (TX-31)
Rhonda Hart (TX-36)

Lauren B. Peña (TX-37)

Steven Shook (TX-26)

Greg Stoker (TX-31)

West Virginia

Vince George (WV-01)

NBCC’s 2026 Policy Platform

Research

The federal government must:

Protect the advancement of scientific knowledge and research through federally funded programs and oppose actions that undermine the integrity, continuity, or independence of the scientific enterprise.
Appropriate sufficient funds annually to support meaningful breast cancer research and develop policies that guarantee transparency, oversight, and accountability of that investment.
Appropriate $150 million for fiscal year 2027 and pledge continued support for the Department of Defense peer-reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program.

Access

Health care is a basic human right. The federal government must guarantee that everyone has access to patient-centered, evidence-based, high-quality, and affordable health care and:

Assure Medicaid coverage for treatment of low-income women screened and diagnosed with breast cancer.
Waive the waiting periods for Medicare and disability benefits for those with metastatic breast cancer who qualify under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Ensure law, regulation and science policies that result in approval of drugs that significantly extend or save lives and whose prices are based on value or effectiveness.

Influence

The federal government must ensure that trained and educated advocates representing a constituency and personally affected by the disease have a seat at all tables where breast cancer research, health care, and policy decisions are made and implemented.

Download the Full Platform (PDF)

Breast cancer advocates lobbying on Capitol Hill

Breast Cancer Is a Political Issue and an Urgent Health Crisis.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) calls upon all candidates for federal office to support NBCC’s policy platform and “ensure access to affordable health care, protect scientific research and its funding, and support policies that will end this disease.

Breast Cancer Remains an Epidemic.

More than 4 million women and thousands of men in the United States are living with breast cancer.

In 2026, an estimated 321,910 women and 2,670 men in this country will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and an additional 60,730 women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

In the US alone, an estimated 42,670 women and 530 men will die of breast cancer this year.

We still do not know what causes breast cancer, how to prevent it or cure it, or how to stop it from metastasizing.

3 Ways to Be an Empowered Breast Cancer Voter in 2026

Here are three things you can do:

Find and attend candidate events in your area, like debates, town halls, and campaign stops. Use NBCC’s guide to ask questions about breast cancer policy issues, and ask federal (House and Senate) candidates from both parties to sign on to our platform.
Follow and engage with your congressional candidates on social media. Our social media guide offers tips for interacting with candidates online and sample posts to ask them to prioritize breast cancer.
Help your networks get ready to vote. Check in with your friends, support/patient groups, treatment centers, and others in your network and encourage them to vote. Share your voting plan and encourage them to visit Vote.org to find local info.