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Alabama rarely has the chance to rank in the top 10 of any state, unless we’re talking about football and religion, of course. as well as nourishment.
Not in education, of course (but congratulations to teachers and kids around the state for the increase in test scores). With so many rural hospitals dying or on life support, maternal health or infant mortality, where we die last, and other factors, we most definitely do not have access to high-quality healthcare.
Unfortunately, we don’t seem to be good at saving lives.
In 2026, Alabama lawmakers will need to change that heinous narrative. They have the power and obligation to save the lives of Alabama men who are suffering from prostate cancer.
Because of the expense or lack of insurance, men may choose not to get tested for the illness.
Men are not as lucky as women. I told you about my prostate cancer diagnosis late last month, and I’m confident I’ll beat it. I’ll call it chapter one of my Cancer Chronicles.
READ: I have the faith to overcome my prostate cancer.
My faith and the blessing of early detection are the foundations of my confidence in the prognosis in this battle. I’ve had yearly examinations since I was an adult because my father passed away from prostate cancer when I was eleven years old. In addition to the unpleasant digital prostate exam, they have been measuring the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) protein in my veins with a blood test for the past few years. Prostate cancer is one of the few things no man wants to be warned about by an elevated PSA.
After my most recent routine checkup with my primary care physician in May, I was informed that my PSA had increased from the previous test. The outcome: According to my urologist, I have cancer: unfavorable intermediate risk.
We’re still processing and considering our alternatives for treatment, but we’re once again optimistic that all will work out in the end. because I received frequent early tests and because God is in charge.
For a variety of reasons, not all men do. Cost is one among them. Legislators in Alabama must remove that obstacle.
Any reason will do, isn’t it? Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, stated that there is no justification if the exam is free. There is no fee to complete this. No deductible. No copay. No co-insurance. In essence, eliminating all of that from the procedure.
Currently, PSA tests for men at high risk for prostate cancer are free in eight states. Once more, our lawmakers were unable to put aside their selfish interests, which prevented Alabama from making it into the Top 10.
SB190, which would have made PSA testing free for those at heightened risk—men over 40, African American men, who are diagnosed with and die from prostate cancer at a significantly higher rate than white men, and anyone with a direct relative (father, brother) with prostate cancer—was sponsored by state senator Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, during the 2025 legislative session.
Gray wrote companion bill HB334 in the House and was in a position to lead it through the lower house. It was approved by the Insurance committee and passed by the House Health committee, which Gray is a member of.
Gray told me there wasn’t much pushback. All of those individuals supported the bill, as did Blue Cross-Blue Shield. I had presented it to the insurance committee of the Senate. When it reached the House committee, they declared that they had already heard it and would move it forward.
The state’s version of the law, which eliminated out-of-pocket expenses for high-risk men undergoing prostate cancer and other cancer screenings, was signed into law by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in April 2024. The state’s PSA Screening For HIM bill was passed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee a month later. According to a national advocacy group called Zero Prostate Cancer, they became the sixth and seventh states to eliminate the expense of prostate cancer examinations for high-risk men.
Read: Your love, support, and prayers uplifted me.
Delaware rose to the eighth position among states with free screening laws last November. Virginia lawmakers strengthened their state’s free prostate cancer screening regulations in March, making it the ninth state to do so.
We might have been number ten. It ought to have been.
In Alabama, HB334 stagnated while SB190 cleared the Senate 33-0. Although the session was late, it was not toolate.
“It simply didn’t move,” remarked Gray. They allowed time to pass.
Livingston stated in a text message that he intends to drop the bill before the 2026 parliamentary session. Gray will pre-file a House measure in the same manner.
I texted Livingston, “This isn’t the first year I’ve carried the bill.” He also states that he supports the bill that would expand screening.
In order to give us time to pass, I took the initiative to start working on it early, Gray stated. I’m hopeful that Sen. Livingston will follow suit so that we can pass this in the House and Senate for the upcoming session.
What prevented it from passing this year? Livingston answered late in the session.
Consider how many lives might have been saved since then if Gov. Kay Ivey had signed the bill into law.
Cancer has no left or right political affiliation. either survive (early detection) or pass away.
According to the American Cancer Society, there will be roughly 5,440 new cases of prostate cancer this year, and 550 of those men will pass away from the illness. That’s 550 fathers, brothers, uncles, sons, and 500 potentially spared lives.
Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, stated that screening, early discovery, and treatment are essential to saving lives. That’s exactly what this bill will do.
Yes, it will if our goal is to save lives.
It must be something we do.
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Let s be better tomorrow than we are today. Much better, I hope. My column appears onAL.com, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think [email protected], and follow me attwitter.com/roysj, Instagram@roysjandBlueSky.
