The Senate met Tuesday morning and completed action on the Jessica Huffman Bill, which would preserve hair during chemotherapy.
Huffman is the namesake of House Bill 4089, which will require health insurance in West Virginia pay for scalp cooling systems meant to prevent or reduce hair loss in cancer patients.
Huffman underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy for invasive breast cancer two years ago. She handled the treatment well but said nothing could have prepared her for how losing her hair to chemotherapy drugs would affect her.
“When I went out in public, and I had lost all my hair, I looked sick even though I felt really normal,” Huffman explained to the Senate Health Committee earlier in session. “That was a topic of conversation or look of pity from people, and that really bothered me a lot.”
Huffman said she learned of scalp cooling treatments too late to save her own hair. She’s hopeful the treatment can help other women who undergo cancer treatment to retain a sense of normalcy and confidence.
The device is proven to help reduce hair loss for patients with breast cancer and other solid tumors. It works by constricting blood vessels in the head, minimizing the amount of chemotherapy drugs that get to the scalp.
West Virginia is set to become the third state in the nation to require insurance companies to cover scalp cooling systems, joining New York and Louisiana.
The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk to await his signature.
Also on Tuesday, the Senate completed legislative action on 11 other bills, bringing the completed legislation tally to 59 bills as of this afternoon.
The Senate is in recess until 4:30 p.m.
Afternoon Meetings for March 10:
Health is currently underway.
Judiciary at 3 p.m. in 208W
Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M
