Supporting the recognition of October 2025 as “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.

Supporting the recognition of October 2025 as “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.

Whereas October 2025 is “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month”, which is an annual observance increasing public awareness of breast cancer and promoting efforts to advance research and find a cure;

Whereas, despite significant advances, 1 case of breast cancer is still diagnosed in the United States every 2 minutes;

Whereas, in the United States, more than 319,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2025, and nearly 42,000 people will die of the disease;

Whereas, through research, advocacy, and improved early detection and treatment, the 5-year relative survival rate is now over 99 percent for breast cancer diagnosed at a localized stage, but drops to 87 percent for regional stage and 32 percent for metastatic disease;

Whereas the journey for many individuals is quite different, with more than 168,000 women and an unknown number of men living with metastatic breast cancer, a devastating stage of breast cancer which occurs when cancer spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body, including the bones, lungs, liver, and brain;

Whereas, currently, no cure exists for metastatic breast cancer, and many of those with metastatic breast cancer will continue treatment with the goal of extending the best quality of life possible;

Whereas Black women are often diagnosed with breast cancer at later stages when treatments are limited and costly, and the prognosis is poor, and mortality rates are nearly 38 percent higher than White women;

Whereas breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed and the leading cause of cancer death in Hispanic women;

Whereas breast cancer mortality has declined in every racial and ethnic group since 1990, except for American Indian and Alaska Native women, among whom rates have remained stable;

Whereas there has been a concerning rise in breast cancer diagnoses in young women (under the age of 50) in recent years;

Whereas, breast cancer incidence in the United States increased from 2012 to 2021, with a steeper increase among women younger than 50 years than in those 50 or older;

Whereas young women diagnosed with breast cancer often face unique issues including early menopause, loss of fertility, difficulty breastfeeding, overall higher stage of breast cancer at diagnosis, and more;

Whereas the more than 4,000,000 breast cancer survivors, those living with the disease, and the people who love them can attest to the urgent need for access to timely, affordable health care, including screening, diagnosis, and treatment, and robust funding for cancer research; and

Whereas policymakers are urged to address the issues impacting the breast cancer community in the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the recognition of “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.