In 2022, my wife and I were ready to take the next step to start a family. Like many people, I began with a simple step: checking in with a doctor to make sure everything was on track with my health. I never imagined that visit would uncover a diagnosis that could take both my future and my life. And I certainly didn’t expect that my survival would depend on access to a clinical trial.

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome, an inherited genetic condition that significantly increases the risk of colorectal and other cancers. Shortly after, a colonoscopy revealed a mass in my rectum. Because of a specific biomarker linked to my condition, I qualified for a groundbreaking clinical trial.

That trial changed everything.

Instead of enduring chemotherapy, radiation and invasive surgery, I received an innovative therapy. Within three months, the mass was undetectable. What could have been a devastating, life-altering medical journey became something entirely different.

Stories like mine are only possible because clinical trials exist, and because the system that supports them works.

Today, that system is at risk.

California lawmakers are considering Assembly Bill 1776, legislation intended to strengthen antitrust enforcement. But as written, the bill could unintentionally disrupt the cross-sector collaborations that make clinical trials possible. It expands the state’s authority to challenge business practices deemed “anticompetitive,” creating new uncertainty for the partnerships between researchers, hospitals and innovators that drive medical progress.

In biomedical research, collaboration is foundational, not optional. The same relationships that might raise concerns in other industries are often essential to developing new treatments and bringing them to patients through clinical trials.

California leads the world in clinical research, with thousands of trials actively recruiting patients across the state. These studies are not theoretical – they are where new therapies are tested, refined and delivered to people who need them most like me. 

If AB 1776 disrupts the clinical trial pipeline, the consequences will be profound. Fewer clinical trials, slower research, and reduced access to cutting-edge treatments could become the new reality. For those of us facing rare or life-threatening conditions, time is not a luxury. Treatment delays can mean the difference between life and death.

I am one of the fortunate ones. My condition was caught early. A clinical trial was available. The treatment worked. 

But not everyone will be so lucky if policies like AB 1776 unintentionally undermine the very system that made my recovery possible. I urge California lawmakers to reject AB 1776 and protect the clinical trials that save lives every day. 

Jessica Acosta is a patient advocate who lives in San Diego. 

A brush fire in San Marcos forced hundreds of families to evacuate their homes Sunday afternoon.

It happened near the Cal State San Marcos campus in the 500 Block of La Moree Road.

“I was at home when an amazing sheriff literally pounded on the door, broke in, grabbed me, grabbed my dogs and said…you’ve got to get out of here. Fire is behind your house,” Daun Everforest said.

Everforest was among hundreds of families evacuated to Mission Hills High School after a brush fire threatened their homes Sunday afternoon.

Neighbors said the fire came really close to homes on the nearby hillside.

“My daughter came running into our back bedroom and she said mom you’ve got to come there’s a fire on the hill,” Angel Martinez said.

“I stepped outside and I saw just everything was just blazing,” Ethan Ochoa, another neighbor said.

San Marcos Fire Department said crews responded to a call about a brush fire at around 3p.m. Sunday afternoon.

The first unit on scene found the fire spread out to about one acre with the heavy fuels.

A division fire marshal told NBC 7 the brush fire prompted a large response, with at least 30 fire engines, air support from Cal Fire, and Sheriff’s Deputies on the ground to help with evacuations.