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ccording to the American Cancer Society, this year, nearly 1.7 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S., and more than 600,000 Americans will die from the disease.

No one is ever really prepared to hear that they or someone they love has cancer. When it happens to a family member or a close friend, we try to be supportive and help them in any way possible.

Unfortunately, I know this experience all too well.

My mother and sister both battled breast cancer. Thankfully, both of them survived their fights.

In support of all Michigan cancer patients, I was proud to recently vote for important legislation that would ensure that patients in our state never have to worry about the cost of cancer medications when choosing the best treatment in their fight.

Senate Bill 492 would give insurance patients in Michigan access to all forms of chemotherapy, regardless of how it is administered.

Currently, Michigan is the only Great Lakes state and one of only seven states nationwide that treats insurance coverage of IV and orally administered chemotherapy treatments differently.

Although IV therapies are more invasive, they are fully covered under a person’s medical benefit, while oral treatments could cost patients thousands of dollars a month. Most importantly, some cancers can only be treated by oral medications.

If a patient in Michigan needs oral chemotherapy, the lifesaving treatment is currently covered as a prescription benefit. The high out-of-pocket costs can force some patients to choose less effective treatment methods.

SB 492 would ensure that if a health insurance plan covers oral chemotherapy drugs, the medicine must be covered the same way intravenously or injected anticancer treatments are covered.

This reform is about saving lives and ensuring that Michigan patients have the best kind of medicine available when battling cancer.

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents Southwest Michigan.