NEENAH (NBC 26) — A Neenah family is working to fulfill their mother's mission to change Wisconsin law after she passed away from breast cancer last year.
Watch Kyle Langellier's full broadcast story here:
Gail Zeamer was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2016. Since then, she and her family have been working to change Wisconsin law to give women more tools to fight cancer.
"It's like finding a polar bear in a snow storm," said Steve Zeamer, Gail's husband.
Dense breast tissue shows up white on a mammogram, the same color as potentially cancerous cells or tumors.
"You're just under the assumption that this is doing the job... and unfortunately it wasn't," Steve said.
After discovering what seemed to the Zeamers an obvious flaw in healthcare, Gail started working to fix it with a law that would require doctors to alert women if they have dense breasts and require insurance to cover additional screenings.
"My mom didn't have that... and she ended up with late stage cancer. And she was like 'this should not happen to anyone else - there's no reason because this is knowledge we know,"' said Sophie Zeamer, Gail's daughter.
The first half of Gail's goal was accomplished in 2018 with a law being passed requiring medical providers to tell women if they have dense breast tissue. However, there is no guarantee that insurance will cover additional screenings.
"It's crazy how much work has been put into it to make something that I feel like should have been a thing a long time ago... before my mom," said Claudia Zeamer, Gail's daughter.
Gail Zeamer watched the second half of the law fail twice before passing away in June 2024.
"This is kind of the final piece of my mom's work," Sophie said.
Now her family continues advocating for what's been named "Gail's Law" - a requirement of insurance to cover more screenings for those with dense breast tissue.
"By doing this for her... it gives me a sense of peace because I know how hard she worked... and how maybe frustrated or disappointed she was that it didn't get the traction it needed - it's our obligation to her," Steve said.
The Wisconsin Legislature is currently in recess. The Zeamers are hoping "Gail's Law" passes when the term resumes this fall.
