Genetics, lifestyle, luck? So much about cancer remains unknown. That hits close to home for Kansas state Senator Barbara Allen.

In 1989, Allen learned her mother had ovarian cancer. Although her mother fought valiantly, she passed away in 1992. Allen then learned that she, too, was at high risk for ovarian cancer. Armed with that knowledge, she did everything the experts recommended.

“Despite a family history of ovarian cancer, I was in fact shocked to learn of my breast cancer diagnosis in March of 2005,” Allen said. “I guess you never think it will happen to you.”

Sadly, Allen discovered the best possible treatment for her case was not located in Kansas City. After carefully considering the options, she sought care at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

“At the Dana Farber Institute, I was able to enroll in a clinical trial that would not have been available to me in Kansas City. The drug I received is not today considered standard therapy for breast cancer treatment,” Allen said.

Thankfully, Allen had treatment that resulted in a “complete pathological response,” meaning that even before going into surgery, her tests indicated the pre-surgery treatment had rendered her cancer-free. To be absolutely sure, she took her physicians’ advice and completed surgery as well as the recommended rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.

“Did the trial drug make the difference? We’ll never know for sure,” she said. “But I can live with my diagnosis knowing we did everything we could have possibly done to get a cure. Every woman in the Heartland deserves that same opportunity.”

As she headed into the 2006 session of the Kansas Legislature, Allen knew what she wanted to accomplish. She introduced legislation to allow taxpayers to make a voluntary contribution to the KU Cancer Center’s breast cancer program via their state income tax forms. The legislation passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Kathleen Sebelius. All a taxpayer needs to do is check off a box on the Kansas state income tax form, and KU’s breast cancer research programs benefit.

“It was important to me to target the legislation to breast cancer research for one simple reason: breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Kansas, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death among Kansan women,” Allen said. +