(C) Minnesota Reformer
This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Breast cancer survivor: Medicaid and SNAP are matters of survival • Minnesota Reformer [1]

['Suzi Gadbaw', 'Thomas Lane', 'Alicia Schaupp', 'Paul Graham', 'Drew Filkins', 'More From Author', 'August', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus']

Date: 2025-08-20

Like many Minnesotans, I’ve experienced health challenges in recent years. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. The complications of my cancer diagnosis and treatment left me with severe pain. I have to take medicine seven times a day just to manage that pain. Without Medicaid, I wouldn’t have been able to survive the treatment. And without SNAP, I wouldn’t have had the strength to fight for my life.

For 14 years, I worked at the Salvation Army in Duluth, helping neighbors get back on their feet. Before that, I was a retail worker, a teacher’s aide for kids with autism, and a librarian. I’ve spent my life taking care of people. Now, after everything, it feels like my country is turning its back on me.

With the passage of the GOP mega-law, President Donald Trump and members of Congress are making huge cuts to the very programs that have kept me going. Medicaid paid for my surgeries, doctor visits, and every prescription during cancer treatment. It still covers my medications and regular checkups to keep me healthy and make sure the cancer doesn’t return. Losing that coverage would mean no access to an oncologist, no pain medication and no way to afford the pills that keep me alive.

SNAP helps me access the food my body needs. Since retiring, I’ve lived on just over $800 a month in Social Security benefits. That barely leaves enough to cover rent, food, clothing, and other necessary bills. I receive $113 in SNAP benefits per month, which is about $3.74 per day. It’s not enough, but it helps. I don’t buy junk food and always shop the sales. Still, I spend another $100 of my own money on groceries every month.

When I got cancer, I applied for SNAP so I could afford fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat. The foods that help keep me healthy aren’t cheap. If my benefits are cut again, I’ll be forced to live on less healthy, microwaveable meals. A healthy diet isn’t optional when you’re recovering from cancer. It’s part of survival.

It’s not just me. In Minnesota, nearly 1.3 million people rely on Medicaid. Another 400,000 count on SNAP to keep food on the table every month. These are seniors like me, kids and people working long hours at jobs that barely cover the bills. No one chooses to struggle like this. We’re doing the best we can with what little we have.

Medicaid and SNAP aren’t luxuries. They are the reason I’m still here. I’m grateful for the support I’ve received, but that doesn’t mean I feel safe. Cuts are coming, and with them, the threat of losing everything I’ve fought so hard to hold onto.

I’m not just scared — I’m angry. And now I’m using my voice to speak out. Because the loss of these programs will diminish the opportunities for millions of Americans like me to live with dignity, health and hope.

While thankfully our senators voted against these cuts, U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber of the 8th District is celebrating kicking people off these life saving programs. Now he’s prancing around Minnesota during the Congressional August recess as if he didn’t just throw millions of us under the bus. But we need more leaders who protect people, not abandon us.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/08/20/breast-cancer-survivor-medicaid-and-snap-are-matters-of-survival/

Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/