Early care is less costly

More health care for the poor is a good idea. Illness caught early is easier and cheaper to treat. Take me, for example. I have a primary brain tumor that could have been diagnosed in 1998 but wasn't until 2007. I haven't the foggiest idea how much the surgery cost, but my first round of chemotherapy was $750 per pill, 10 per week, for four weeks. The cost of the radiation treatment was probably quite expensive also. Then there are MRIs and maintenance drugs. I'm on my second round of chemotherapy now -- all avoidable had I had good medical care early on. Will we become that country where we turn our backs while our citizens fall dead in the streets?

I'd also like to thank the American taxpayers for funding the VA so I can get treatment.

ANDREW HAZARD, Cape Girardeau