Breast Cancer awareness month might be over, but the fight for insurance equality for mothers impacted by breast cancer is a year-round battle — one that we will continue to shed light on.
There are more than 3.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. (including women currently being treated and women who’ve finished treatment), and approximately 13 percent (about 1 in 8) of women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their life. The outcome of these cases can obviously vary — 25 percent of breast cancer diagnoses require surgical breast removal, and for those who have a choice, 72 percent opt for a mastectomy to help prevent future recurrences.
And while it may seem like new mothers are “too young” to have cancer, the disease is actually the most common form of cancer for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth and occurs once in every 3,000 pregnancies. Tragically, every year more than 1,000 women under the age of 40 die of breast cancer.
The policy gap
Knowing these growing stats, it’s no surprise that there’s an intersection of the rising number of young breast cancer patients undergoing treatment as they’re trying to start families. These women might have fought breast cancer or found out they were at a higher risk for developing breast cancer and then chose to have the surgery as a preventative measure. While this is a crucial step for their health, it makes feeding their young ones a little more complicated if they planned on breastfeeding. They can turn to formula or donor breast milk, but it’s not cheap (which is why many women opt to breastfeed). Unfortunately, there’s no insurance coverage for formula or donor breast milk for these women. The only benefits through the Affordable Care Act are a free breast pump and lactation support for any mother in the U.S.
Coverage of breast pumps and lactation support for an individual who has had their breasts removed is not helpful, supportive, or — let’s be frank — sensical. Plain and simple: These parents’ babies are dependent upon infant formula or donor breast milk in order to meet their basic, daily nutritional needs.
The fact that this support is not provided is a significant policy gap — one that organic and mom-founded formula company Bobbie has been fighting to close alongside The Breasties, the first inclusive non-profit that connects and supports young breast and gynecological cancer survivors, for two years.
What we’re doing about it
Until insurance equality is reached, Bobbie is covering a full year of Bobbie formula for a group of moms who have undergone a mastectomy and has pledged to continue to sponsor as many parents as they can each year who have had to undergo a mastectomy or who cannot breastfeed because of breast cancer treatment until this policy gap is closed. In total, we have sponsored 181 moms with a free full year of Bobbie formula.
When we learned that Katie Couric was treated for breast cancer earlier this year, we realized she could help be a voice for these moms and advocate for awareness of their experience and the policy gap around their feeding journeys. We were beyond proud to invite Katie to surprise 111 moms on a zoom call and be the person who revealed that every single one of them would receive a full year of Bobbie to cover their entire first year of feeding an infant.
What you can do
Sign the petition to support insurance equality for parents who can’t breastfeed due to breast cancer.
To be a part of Bobbie’s advocacy campaign, you can donate directly to The Breasties or take action by signing up to join our efforts to close the feeding policy gap for breast cancer survivors and previvors through Bobbie for Change.
And if you know someone impacted by breast cancer who is pregnant or a new mom who missed being a part of this year’s group of Bobbie Breasties, Bobbie offers a year-round special discount for these women. You can reach out to the company through Bobbie for Change.
Bobbie is the only mom-founded and women-led infant formula company in the U.S. Bobbie believes parents and caregivers deserve social, economic, and healthcare resources to sustain their own well-being — against the backdrop of the formula crisis of 2022, this has never been more apparent. They’re channeling frustration into progress to fill critical gaps in today’s parent experience.
The Breasties is a community-centered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that pushes for inclusive insurance policies and champions equitable feeding support for individuals impacted by breast cancer. The Breasties’ mission is to empower individuals affected by breast and gynecologic cancers through connection and free events, and to fund research for metastatic breast cancer.
