They are united by cancer — and they don’t let ugly politics divide them : Shots

Mary Catherine Johnson is a retired small-business owner from outside Rochester, New York. She voted for Donald Trump three times.

Lexy Mealing, who used to work in a physician's office, is from Long Island, New York. She's a Democrat.

But the two women share a common bond. They both survived breast cancer.

And when the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network organized its annual citizen lobby day in Washington, D.C., last month, Johnson and Mealing were among the more than 500 volunteers pushing Congress to keep cancer research and support for cancer patients at the top of the U.S. health care agenda.

An annual plea

The day in Washington is something of a ritual for groups like the cancer organization.

This year it came as Democrats and Republicans in Washington slid toward a