Danny Efron is on a quest and for him, this battle is personal.
"I am a fighter. I make sure I do what needs to be done," said Efron. "It started with my grandmother at seven. I lost her to leukemia, then my dad at 26 to prostate cancer, then my aunt to ovarian cancer at 30, and then of course my mother when I was 35 to pancreatic cancer."
Eventually, he ended up in his own battle with Glioblastoma, twice. He was first diagnosed in 2015.
"They saw a large, inflamed ball in my head and my parietal lobe and they immediately recommended emergency surgery, brain surgery," said Efron.
He beat the cancer even after it came back in 2022. That's why he wanted to take his fight to Washington, D.C.
"The first was to increase funding for cancer research and prevention and the second was for our lawmakers to co-sponsor two lifesaving bills," said Efron.
Last month, as part of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network's "Cancer Lobby Day," he was able to meet with members of Arizona's congressional delegation, like Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who spoke with ABC15 after their meeting.
Advocating at #CancerLobbyDay with @AmerCancerCEO and @SenatorSinema pic.twitter.com/N5o6bVf4qZ
— ACS CAN Arizona (@ACSCANAZ) September 19, 2023
"It's so important that Congress continues to invest funding in cancer research through things like the National Institutes of Health, to ensure that folks know that the science is advancing and that cancer treatments will continue to become more available for them and their family," said Sen. Sinema.
She says this is an investment in the future.
"Right now, they have to wait several years before they can get access to those cancer screenings. That makes no sense. It's actually a waste of money because if we can detect cancer sooner and treat it sooner, people will live longer and healthier lives," said Sen. Sinema.
Efron just hopes his efforts will help others.
"I do everything in my power to try to you know, advocate for it and push progress or just inspire people that there's hope out there," said Efron.
The Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act has 198 co-sponsors in the House and 46 in the Senate. Once those numbers are a little higher, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is hopeful it will come to the House floor for a vote.
ABC15 is told the number of co-sponsors grew after Efron and other cancer advocates spent the day talking with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
You can follow along with Efron's journey as a cancer survivor by visiting his YouTube channel "The Power of the Fight with Danny Efron."
