TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Jamie Ennis Bloyd is, as she puts it, a "mom on a mission."

Her 5-year-old son Paxton has sporadic-type Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare form of the disease. It's unacceptable, Bloyd said, that less than 4 percent of all cancer research is focused on pediatric cancer.

"Kids are 100 percent of our future," she said. "Four percent is not enough for a population that holds all of the promise for everything, for our whole world. It's just not OK with me. They're precious; they haven't done anything to deserve this."

The American Cancer Society is urging that more resources be dedicated to caring for the overall well-being of child cancer patients and their families. While Bloyd understands the value of palliative care, she said she believes dollars for research should come first.

That extra layer of support is critical, said Rebecca Kirch, the American Cancer Society's director of quality of life and survivorship, because research shows that two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors endure debilitating symptoms that can continue into adulthood, and even last a lifetime.

"As we've seen more and more children surviving and growing into adulthood," she said, "it's not without the expense of this impact on these other things."

Kirch said more focus is being placed on trying to limit the severe side effects of treating pediatric cancer.

Paxton is on his eighth and final round of chemotherapy, and his mom, Jamie Bloyd, said his scans and biopsies are clear. She said she had to "beg and plead" with her son's physicians to follow up on her son's lymph node. Her message to other parents: Childhood cancer symptoms usually don't "roar out at you."

"Things that can easily be written off as, like, 'Oh that's just a 4-year-old being a 4-year-old, or a 5-year-old being a 5-year-old, going through a phase not wanting to eat,' " she said. "Or, 'Oh well, he just, you know, ran around and ate too much and has got a belly ache.' Or, you know,'It's growing pains, that's why his legs hurt.' "

From her own experience, Bloyd said, she tells parents, "Don't be afraid to ask questions, and push, push and push again."


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New Mexico saw record enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act this year and is now setting its sights on lowering out-of-pocket costs - those not reimbursed by insurance. More than 56,000 New Mexicans are enrolled in a medical health insurance plan on the state exchange - an increase of 12,000 people overall.

Colin Baillio, deputy superintendent with the state's Office of Insurance, said the state has boosted its outreach and made efforts to improve the overall consumer experience.

"We saw a 40% year-over-year increase, and New Mexico saw the biggest percentage increase during the open-enrollment period among all of the state-based marketplaces," he explained

Part of the enrollment increase is due to what's called the "unwinding" - a federal directive that required all states to redetermine Medicaid eligibility following a three-year pause on checks during the COVID pandemic. He said by using expanded tools made available by the federal and state government, 8% of New Mexico's population is now uninsured - down from 23% in 2010.

Following approval by lawmakers in the 2024 legislative session, the New Mexico governor signed seven health care-related bills into law - one of which requires annual reporting of prescription drug pricing. Baililo said the Affordable Care Act built the foundation that has allowed the state to pursue additional affordability initiatives.

"I'm really glad to see that there's so much interest in the next step of health reform, really leaning into these out-of-pocket cost issues and making it easier for people to afford to stay covered and see their doctors," he continued.

Two years ago, the state also passed a one-of-a-kind law that did away with behavioral health co-pays for people in certain insurance plans.

New York's medical aid-in-dying bill is gaining further support. The Medical Society of the State of New York is supporting the bill. New York's bill allows terminally ill people with only six months to live to use this option, with safeguards requiring two physicians' approval.

The bill's Assembly sponsor Amy Paulin, D-Westchester, said despite the growing support, other hurdles lie ahead.

"Now we have what I believe, if it came to the floor, a majority. There's still a hesitation on the part of leadership. You know, we need members to assure leadership that they no longer have reservations," she said.

Other newly resolved concerns center on making sure insurance companies and doctors who don't support this aren't held liable. She's optimistic the bill will pass after nine years in the Legislature. New York would be the 11th state along with Washington, D.C. to have medical aid in dying legislation.

Corinne Carey, senior New York campaign director with Compassion and Choices finds the pandemic drew a vivid picture of a person's end-of-life experience. There were images of people dying on ventilators, apart from loved ones, and unable to communicate. She said people began thinking about a "good death."

"And, what is a good death is being surrounded by loved ones, having some measure of control, experiencing the touch of your loved ones, and being the one in the driver's seat," she explained.

Now people have different options for end-of-life care, each of which presents various challenges. Polls show medical aid in dying has garnered considerable support since being introduced in 2015. A 2022 Compassion and Choices poll finds 57% of nurses support medical aid in dying professionally, although fewer support it personally.

The California State Assembly is considering a bill to require schools to have a cardiac arrest response plan. Assembly Bill 2887 would make sure schools update their safety plans to include CPR training and an automatic external defibrillator or AED onsite.

Dr. Stephen Sanko, a professor of clinical emergency medicine at USC, and a founding member of the Cardiac Arrest Survivor Alliance, is a volunteer expert for the American Heart Association. He said having a plan in place is critical.

"The American Heart Association is promoting that schools have a cardiac arrest response plan. A written protocol for what to do in order to decrease the likelihood that if somebody collapses, that they die," he said.

Two years ago, 15-year-old Cash Hennessy collapsed on the football field due to a previously unknown heart defect. Two off-duty medics in the stands gave him CPR. The school brought out its AED - but it was useless, because the batteries were dead.

Hennessy said the experience was traumatic.

"I feel blessed that I had people there for me, that could give me C-P-R. But I think about if those people weren't there and that was another kid, who knows what would have happened? Because there wouldn't have been an AED to save them," he explained.

An AED walks people through the steps to deliver a life-saving shock to a person's heart until an ambulance arrives. Studies show that 70% of kids who suffer sudden cardiac arrest at school recover if an AED is deployed correctly - whereas the survival rate for kids and adults not in the hospital is less than 12%.