PGA Tour Champions tourney spreads word on Galleri early cancer detection test

Bob Ragusa’s message about the Galleri Classic and the sponsorship of the event by Grail, Inc. is straight forward.

“Our mission at Grail is to detect cancer early when it can be cured,” Ragusa said. “Galleri, which the Classic is named after, is Grail’s multi-cancer early detection test, which has the ability to screen for more than 50 different cancers with a simple blood draw.”

That mission, along with the partnership with the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions and bringing the golf tournament to the Coachella Valley, seems to be a blend of the message and the target audience.

“People over the age of 50 have an elevated risk of cancer that is more than 10 times the risk of people who are below the age of 50,” Ragusa said. “So our partnership with the PGA Tour Champions is really a perfect match with that important demographic for us. And really will help us drive education and awareness.”

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More than just talking about the Galleri test, Ragusa and Grail are giving players, Mission Hills members and the gallery a chance to learn their own cancer risks. Grail has brought a mobile phlebotomy unit, or a portable mobile unit, to the tournament in Rancho Mirage this week to offer the Galleri test.

While the test is not free, costing $949 which is not covered by insurance companies pending FDA approval, $50 discounts are being offered during the tournament week. The mobile phlebotomy unit is the only one in the United State for the Galleri test.

“Right now, because it is early, and most insurers are not paying for it, it is an out-of-pocket expense,” said Dr. Joshua Ofman, president of Grail. “We need to get FDA approval, we need to get Medicare to pay for it. We need commercial insurers to pay for it. That is going to take time.”

Ofman said it is important to understand that the Galleri test is not detecting cancer, but detecting signs that cancer may be present. With a positive Galleri test, patients then go to their own doctors for further testing. But the Galleri test can show signs of cancer well before the cancer itself is evident or symptoms of the cancer are obvious.

“A simple blood test gives people who don’t have access to all of these technologies, who are far from hospitals, to get screened,” Ofman said. “It is an additive test. It is a complement to our screening tests. We think an adult, any individual who is at elevated risk for cancer, should considere getting Galleri.”

Visitors to the Galleri Classic fill out short medical information forms, then step into the mobile, where five rooms each with a curtain allow privacy as nurses administer the test.

“I didn’t really know much about it beforehand, but I sat in and (Ragusa) gave a fireside chat (Wednesday) and just remarkable to hear about the technology and what they are doing,” said Ray Eckert of Wilton, Conn., who played in the tournament’s pro-am.

Eckert, the chair of a board of a Connecticut charity that helps children with cancer and their families, said he understands how some people might avoid the test because they are afraid to know the results.

“I don’t think anyone wants to know, but we all have those thoughts,” Eckert said. “It goes back to are you really better off not knowing. But that will hurt you more if you do know.”

Adding to the exposure of the test at the tournament and across the country is Grail's recently announced deals with PGA Tour Champions player David Duval and World Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster as ambassadors for the Galleri test. The tournament is also partnering with six desert cancer-related organizations who will receive funds from the event. The American Cancer Society’s Palm Desert office, the Desert Cancer Foundation, Eisenhower Health, Hanson House, Pendleton Foundation and Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer will be the charitable focus for the event.

Ofman said the reason some people don’t want to take such a test and know they have cancer is that a diagnosis of cancer was once a death sentence. But with Galleri, early detection can lead to treatment and cures, he said.

“That’s a big mind shift that we need to make in the population,” Ofman said.

Ofman and Ragusa held another fireside chat Thursday, with about 40 people asking very specific questions about the cost, false positives and the need for follow-up testing.

“It’s different depending on where you go,” Ofman said of the questions. “Mainly because cancer screening is, you know, something that people know about. A lot of people do their own cancer screening. But previous cancer screenings, like a mammography, were looking for shadows. Colonoscopies were looking visually at the tissue in the colon. What we are looking for is DNA in the blood.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Galleri Classic: Grail's early cancer detection test at center of pro golf tourney