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Teacher helping other while battling terminal cancer
Local teacher Melissa, facing terminal cancer, transforms her diagnosis into a mission, advocating for a crucial test to save lives, resulting in new laws enacted this week.
HUMBLE, Texas - A local teacher turned her terminal cancer diagnosis into a mission to help others.
Michelle Cappel is raising awareness about an important test she believes can help save cancer patient's lives, and her advocacy helped put new laws into place to make sure everyone in Texas has that option.
Michelle refuses to let cancer slow her down. She continues to help shape young minds, teaching fifth graders in Humble ISD, even though her first cancer diagnosis and two recurrences. She adores her students.
"They give me hope. They give me inspiration, and they put me in a good mood every day," says Michelle.
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Michelle Cappel is raising awareness about an important test she believes can help save cancer patient's lives, and her advocacy helped put new laws into place to make sure everyone in Texas has that option.
Her students constantly share positive messages and prayers for her. She was first diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2017, while she was at school. Her first doctor gave her little hope and only six months to live. She was in her 40s! She immediately found a different doctor who told her he could surgically remove all of her cancer.
"That's who I want. I want the rock star! I want the guy who thinks he can get it all, even if he can't. I want the mentality of them thinking, yes, I can save her life," reflects Michelle.
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Now, Michelle advocates for others to seek a second opinion. She also believes biomarker testing helped prolong her life.
"Technically, I shouldn't be alive right now. I know that my survival rate for five years was less than 15%. I'm at seven years, I am alive. I know I shouldn't be, but I feel like I'm here, and I need to make a difference," states Michelle.
She is making a huge difference! She's volunteering with the American Cancer Society to spread important messages about fighting cancer.
"I need to get it out that screening needs to be done at an early age, that if you have any symptoms, you get screened. Patients need to know that their voices need to be heard and that biomarker testing is a very important part of the process of your cancer care," says Michelle.
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Biomarkers give doctors crucial information, so they can provide the most effective, individualized treatments for each patient.
"Biomarkers were done for me very early on, so I was very blessed. I knew what my mutations were. We knew what chemotherapy would work for me. Unfortunately, though, I had a very close friend, and she did not have biomarker testing done. Her hospital did not push for it. Her insurance company was not going to pay for it. So she had six months of treatment that was never going to work for her," says Michelle.
She ended up losing that beloved friend to cancer but believes she'd likely be alive today if she'd had the opportunity to undergo biomarker testing. It's either a simple blood test or a snip of tumor. Michelle helped the American Cancer Society's "Cancer Action Network" raise awareness to Texas legislators, the importance of making the test available to every cancer patient.
"I've been continuing to work with them because American Cancer Society is going state by state by state and trying to make sure that insurance companies see that this is very, very helpful to patients," says Michelle.
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Here are some notable facts, provided by the American Cancer Society:
- Biomarker testing means improved survivorship and better quality of life for cancer patients. It also helps avoid unnecessary, ineffective, and costly treatments that cause physical, emotional, and economic burdens on the patient and the insurer.
- Patients who are older, Black, uninsured or Medicaid-insured, are less likely to be tested for certain guideline-indicated biomarkers.
- While most current applications of biomarker testing are in oncology and autoimmune disease, there is research underway to benefit patients with other conditions including heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, infectious disease, and respiratory illness.
- In a 2021 survey, 66% of oncology providers reported that insurance coverage for biomarker testing is a significant or moderate barrier to appropriate biomarker testing.
The American Cancer Society is also gearing up for its annual Cattle Baron's Ball in Houston. It's Saturday, September 9 at the 713 Music Hall, featuring performances by MidLand and Pat Green. This year's theme is Rhinestone Rodeo.
For more information on tickets: https://cattlebaronsball.org
To better explain biomarker testing: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/diagnosis-staging/tests/biomarker-tests.html
Here are the new laws to cover the cost of this potentially life-saving test:
TX SENATE BILL 989 (HUFFMAN) https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/SB00989S.htm
TX HOUSE BILL 3188 (BONNEN) https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB03188I.pdf#navpanes=0