As RECA expands, Navajo patients still struggle to get cancer care

Posted by Donovan Quintero | Apr 2, 2026 | News |

GALLUP

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández visited the New Mexico Cancer Center here on Wednesday as patients begin seeking compensation under the expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, while ongoing barriers to cancer care across the Navajo Nation continue to limit access to diagnosis and treatment.

The visit highlighted a persistent problem for many Navajo patients. Long travel distances, provider shortages and delays in care can leave people struggling for answers.

For Maggie Billiman, a Navajo patient dealing with multiple illnesses and painful growths on her pancreas, the visit reflected the reality she has been living for years.

Billiman said she has moved through hospitals and clinics from Grants to Las Cruces seeking answers, only to encounter repeated tests, delays and confusion.

“They just send me in circles,” Billiman said. “So next thing I know, my blood count, my white blood count was so low. And she said, ‘We’re just going to send you to the cancer center.’ And I’m like, for what? Can you tell me?”

Billiman said she repeatedly told doctors she was in pain but felt ignored. After already undergoing a colonoscopy and endoscopy, she said she was told to repeat the procedures because a new provider wanted records specifically from the University of New Mexico Hospital. What she expected would be a biopsy of her pancreas instead became another stomach scope.

“I keep saying I’m in pain. I’m in pain. Nobody is listening to me,” Billiman said.

To read the full article, please see the April 2, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.

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