[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8293-S8296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           RACE FOR THE CURE

  Mr. BRADLEY. Madam President, I am very pleased to join my 
distinguished friend from Florida today on the floor of the U.S. Senate 
to talk about the Race for the Cure which will take place this 
Saturday, and the issue of breast cancer generally. Breast cancer is a 
dreaded and devastating disease which has reached epidemic proportions 
in America. During 1995 an estimated 183,000 new cases of breast cancer 
will be detected in women, and 46,000 lives will be lost to this 
disease--46,000 lives. The number is staggering.
  For this reason I am deeply committed to finding a cure for breast 
cancer, as much as a Senator can be committed. The real action is in 
science. But we cannot allow our wives, daughters, friends, and 
coworkers to be claimed by this disease. We must continue to battle for 
their well-being.
  Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. It is the leading cause of 
death among African-American women and it is the leading cause of death 
among all women between ages 35 and 54. Although the incidence of 
breast cancer increases sharply after age 40, younger women, even women 
in their twenties, are also diagnosed with and die of breast cancer.
  As a nation, we cannot afford to wait any longer to eradicate the 
leading killer of women in this country. Although we still do not know 
what causes breast cancer or how to cure it, we have begun to make 
significant strides. Federal funding for breast cancer research has 
quadrupled since 1990. [[Page S8294]] The discovery of breast cancer 
genes has made headlines around the world and restored hope that one 
day a scientific breakthrough will provide a cure. However, we cannot 
simply sit back and wait for the cure. Each and every one of us has a 
role and we can play it and we should play it. One way to help in this 
fight is to participate in something like the sixth annual National 
Race for the Cure this Saturday, on June 17. The purpose of this race 
is to both raise money and public awareness about how early detection 
and mammograms save lives. The Race for the Cure, and others like it 
across the Nation, has raised $27.5 million since it began, making the 
race's foundation the largest private funder of research dedicated 
solely to breast cancer.
  The Race For The Cure is a unique opportunity to bring together the 
many people whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. This year, 
25,000 people are expected to participate in this special event. The 
size of this event clearly demonstrates the far-reaching impact this 
disease has had on American life. Since 1960, more than 950,000 U.S. 
women, nearly 1 million American women, have died from breast cancer. 
This is more than two times the number of all Americans who died in 
World Wars I and II, the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. The 
fight against breast cancer is a continuing battle because breast 
cancer is the leading killer among women.
  I will join the estimated 5,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair 
participants who will turn out in force on Saturday. I will probably be 
a walker, not a runner, but I will be there. And I will join with my 
family, my staff, and I will join all those who have triumphed over 
breast cancer.
  That is how my wife likes to refer to it, having had breast cancer in 
1992 and gone through the agony of chemotherapy and all of the other 
assorted traumas that are associated with it. She does not like the 
word, ``survivor.'' She likes to say that she triumphed over breast 
cancer. So I will be joining all those who triumphed over breast cancer 
as well as the relatives of those who have lost loved ones.
  I will race or walk for a cure. I am very proud of my own office. We 
will be bringing about 56 people to race for a cure on Saturday. I will 
race with my staff and hope that one day, when a new generation of 
American women grow old, their children will learn about breast cancer 
in history books and not in hospitals or in college or at bedside.
  I encourage all my colleagues in the Senate to enter the race and 
urge them to help find a cure for breast cancer. With all of our help 
and the help of the American people, this race will be a tremendous 
success. Race for the Cure is, indeed, a race for life.
  Mr. MACK addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized.
  Mr. MACK. Madam President, thank you.
  I want to, first of all, express my appreciation to Senator Bradley 
for getting the Senate focused on the Race for the Cure. He came up to 
me yesterday afternoon and asked if I would be willing to come over and 
talk for a few minutes this morning.
  I appreciate, again, in this busy schedule and busy arena in which we 
find ourselves, a situation where we can focus our attention and our 
interest on an issue that is of deep concern, frankly, to all 
Americans, but for some of us there is a very personal aspect to it.
  I like the word the Senator's wife uses with respect to triumph. 
Maybe we should begin to change the language that we refer to because, 
as I have become involved in the discussion of this disease, one of the 
things that I have found is that the spirit of the individual, the 
determination of the individual to overcome the disease plays a 
significant role in the cure. I do not mean to downplay the 
significance, obviously, of the traditional medical approaches, but I 
think we are beginning to find out that the human spirit plays a 
greater and greater role in this battle against cancer.
  Another person that I would like to thank is Nancy Brinker, who is 
the individual who started the Race for the Cure. The Susan Komen 
Foundation was established by Nancy Brinker in memory of her sister who 
died of breast cancer. Nancy has just done an outstanding job, and she 
has written a book that is called ``The Race Is Run One Step at a 
Time,'' and why we will be out on the streets of Washington, DC, and on 
The Mall this weekend putting one foot in front of the other maybe a 
little bit faster than we normally do trying to focus attention on the 
importance of early detection with respect to breast cancer.
  I just recommend to any individual or any family that is dealing with 
the disease of breast cancer that you pick up this book that Nancy has 
written. It will change your life, and it will give you a sense about 
how you can triumph over the disease.
  So, again, I thank Nancy Brinker. I thank Senator Bradley for his 
leadership, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to make a few 
comments of my own this morning. As I was trying to think how would I 
focus my comments this morning on this issue, I decided that I would 
like to spend a couple of moments anyway speaking on a personal basis 
about my wife, Priscilla. It has been almost 4 years since that day 
when Priscilla sat me down. She said, ``Connie, you had better sit down 
for a moment. I've got something I need to tell you.'' I had just come 
back from a week's trip. She said that while I was gone she had 
discovered a lump in her breast and that she was fearful that it was 
cancer.
  Again, on a personal basis of having experienced this in my family, 
as many of you have heard, I have spoken out here on the floor before 
about my family's experience. At a young age, when I was in my 
twenties, my younger brother in essence said the same thing to me 
except that he had discovered a melanoma on his head. Unfortunately, 
because it was on his head and covered by hair, it had not been 
discovered until it was way too late. And the doctors told him he 
probably had 6 months to live. Michael ended up living 12 years and 
lived most of those 12 years in a very useful and beneficial and, for 
him, a comfortable way. It was just at the end that it became very, 
very difficult for him.
  But the thoughts that went through my mind when Priscilla told me she 
discovered the lump--I went through all of those experiences again that 
I had with my brother Mike.
  The fundamental difference, though, between the two was early 
detection. Priscilla had not been active in the fight against cancer, 
but because our family had been dealing with the cancer issue, she had 
become sensitized. She had heard the messages, frankly the messages 
that will come from our comments here on the floor today.
  I will guarantee you there will be someone out there watching and 
observing today that will hear what Senator Bradley had to say about 
early detection, hear what Senator Rockefeller will have to say about 
early detection, hear what I have to say about early detection, and the 
realization that if you detect the disease early, you can survive, you 
can triumph. In fact, it has been shown that with most breast cancers, 
if detected and treated early, there is a 94 percent triumphant rate; 
94 percent cure rate. That is a dramatic statistic. The point that the 
Race for the Cure is all about is we can race there to get the message 
out that early detection saves lives.
  So, again, if I can go back on a fairly personal basis, it, frankly, 
is hard for me to believe that I am standing on the floor of the U.S. 
Senate talking about breast cancer. I mean not too many years ago most 
males would have said this is not something we can talk about in 
public. Most women would have said that not too long ago. Most of our 
society said we cannot even talk about cancer. The importance of what 
we are doing is saying that you can come out in a very public way and 
talk about the disease and it is OK for men and women to talk about 
early detection with respect to breast cancer.
  Again, in Priscilla's case, she did all of the things that one is 
supposed to do. She had a mammogram in November prior to the discovery 
of the disease. It did not pick up the lump at that time. She had her 
annual gynecological exam in June of the following year. Nothing showed 
up. But there was a message about self breast exams that somehow 
somebody got through to Priscilla. That is the way she discovered the 
disease. Because of that early discovery, Priscilla is going to 
survive. She is going to triumph. She has won. She is so excited about 
having [[Page S8295]] gone through that victory, if you will, that she 
is out right now--she left yesterday morning--she is in Florida this 
week, and she is working with other survivors of cancer, other people 
who are engaged in getting the message out about early detection.
  I will say on a personal basis that I do not think Priscilla has ever 
felt better in her life, both physically and emotionally, to be 
involved in something she believes in so deeply and the realization 
that by getting up and saying to people--by the way, let me back up for 
a moment.
  When I said to Priscilla that I had decided that I was going to run 
for the Congress back in 1982, she in essence said, ``Great. Go for it. 
But there are two things I do not do.'' She said, ``One is I do not 
speak to the media, and the other is I do not give speeches.'' Well, I 
tell you something. Priscilla is out speaking to the media, and she is 
out giving speeches because she is absolutely convinced that the more 
she does, the more opportunities there are for people to survive, to 
triumph over the disease. And she had not been doing this.
  I think most of us recognize that there is nothing more satisfying in 
life than to be pursuing something that you believe in, that you are 
committed to, that you are dedicated to.
  So, while I am out here today to talk about the significance of the 
Race for the Cure and the 20,000 to 25,000 people that may join us--and 
I, too, will be participating in the race on Saturday, as I did last 
year--the real message in all of this is that early detection saves 
lives. One of the comments that the American Cancer Society has stated 
over and over again is we can increase the cure rate of cancer from the 
50 percent roughly where it is today, to 75 percent without a single 
additional technological breakthrough.
  I get very excited about the things that are happening out at the 
National Cancer Institute with gene therapy, and with the therapy work 
that is going on, and we are going to get tremendous breakthroughs. But 
if we did not get one more, we could increase the cure rate from 50 to 
75 percent if we could just convince people to take advantage of the 
early detection procedures that are already available through our 
health care system in America today.
 From 50 to 75 percent, that is dramatic, absolutely dramatic.

  The other comment that I would make, and I have to be careful here 
not to use too many statistics, but as I understand it, only roughly 
35, 37 percent of women that are covered by Medicare take advantage of 
reimbursement for mammography--only 37 percent. And I would make this 
point, that as an individual gets older and older and older and the 
chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer go up and up and up, 
there is more need to take advantage of what is offered through the 
Medicare system, and only 37 percent of American women are in fact 
taking advantage of that at this time. So we need to get that message 
out to the older women of our society.
  The last point that I would make here this morning, Madam President, 
has to do with fear. Priscilla talks about this all the time, and we 
have all heard it. People say, well, gee, I think I would rather not 
know. And that is a rationalization on the one hand, but yet it is a 
recognition of fear, because we are still dealing with a situation 
where we are convinced that if we are told we have cancer, we are going 
to die, that people do not survive. That is just fundamentally wrong. 
So we have to get the message out that you do not have to address this 
with the level of fear that so many do; that you have to break through 
that fear and let us detect the disease early and let us provide then 
for the treatment of the disease so that we can see more of our loved 
ones triumph over this dreaded disease.
  So, again, I thank the Chair. I thank Senator Bradley for getting us 
this opportunity to get together to talk about this. I look forward to 
being out there on Saturday with him and with the other 20,000, 25,000 
as we raise more money to add to the coffers to do the research and get 
the message out that early detection saves lives. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.


             Early Detection and Public Awareness of Cancer

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I rise also to support the Race for 
the Cure. I do not have the same personal experience that Senator 
Bradley and Senator Mack have, but I am profoundly moved by the 
experiences they have gone through. As they communicated to all of us 
about much more devastating experiences that their wives have been 
through and to some extent are still going through, it is interesting 
that both men, in my judgment, both Senators are reticent about 
personal matters. That is their nature. But when it comes to something 
like this, where there is so much that they can do to help so many 
people, and where they know that as Senators people will at least from 
time to time listen to what they have to say, they know they have a 
duty, and I think we all do, to make people aware of what can happen 
through early detection and through public awareness.
  America is a very interesting country. We battle about whether we are 
going to reform health care or whether we are going to increase or 
decrease Government spending on research, but Americans are very unique 
in the way that they sometimes can just galvanize themselves to make 
things known, and this Race for the Cure is a very dramatic example. 
The numbers have grown over the years. This year the international 
community will be involved for the first time on Saturday, June 17.
  I really was interested in what Senator Mack had to say about fear. I 
think that is true. I have seen that in my own work as a Senator, even 
going back to the time I was a VISTA volunteer in West Virginia, the 
fear that people sometimes have either because there is enough that is 
going to be wrong in their lives they do not want to take a test to 
find out something which might tell them there is something much more 
seriously going wrong in their lives or simply because Americans often 
are generically optimistic; they figure ``it will not happen to me.'' 
Of course, it does. And the figures about how you can cut down through 
mammograms, through self-testing, the spread of this disease and 
mortality of this disease are really just staggering.
  I am impressed by the difference between the 95 percent cure rate 
upon early detection and then over a 5-year period, that a 5-year 
survival rate goes all the way down to 18 percent.
  If there has not been early detection and there has been such a 
spread on a more general basis, that argues so totally for prevention, 
for self-examination, for mammograms, for doing everything we possibly 
can.
  So I think it is very important; the statement that more women die 
from this disease than any other is something that we have to 
understand and something that we have to talk about so that people will 
be strong in their response and that a husband and wife and friend, all 
of us feel a responsibility to each other about problems with diseases 
like this which are difficult for women in this case and others for men 
in other cases; that we have to be able to talk openly, publicly, 
freely, and instructively about this to each other and to the American 
public. It is one of our roles I think as public officials.
  So that I congratulate Senator Bradley and Senator Mack, both for 
their own combination of privacy in the way they handled this 
ordinarily but, on the other hand, when it comes to helping others, the 
way they are determined to be more public so as to broaden public 
education and thus increase the possibility for a better cure rate. And 
symbolically, here we come to the Race for the Cure on Saturday, and I 
hope that it is the largest one ever.
  I thank the Presiding Officer and I yield the floor.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida controls the time.
  Mr. MACK. I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 1 minute 11 seconds.
  Mr. MACK. I yield that 1 minute 11 seconds to my colleague from New 
York.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is recognized.
  [[Page S8296]]
  
                     Breast Cancer Awareness Stamp

  Mr. D'AMATO. I thank my colleague and friend. Let me commend Senator 
Mack and Senator Bradley for their extraordinary efforts in this area 
of education, of bringing about public awareness of not only the 
disease but the horrible impact it has not only on women but the 
families of America.
  Mr. President, I rise today to commend the Susan G. Komen Breast 
Cancer Foundation for sponsoring the sixth annual national Race for the 
Cure, which will take place this coming Saturday, June 17, here in our 
Nation's Capital.
  This annual event raises critically needed funds to combat breast 
cancer--a horrible disease that, unthinkably, has become the most 
common form of cancer in women, and the leading cause of cancer death 
for all women between the ages of 35 and 54. It is a disease that--with 
no known cure and no known cause--can only be understood, and 
eventually conquered, through increased research.
  In addition to raising funds for research, this race helps raise the 
level of public awareness of this disease, while bringing needed public 
attention to the importance of early detection.
  We must continue to seek new and creative ways to promote breast 
cancer awareness. I want to take a moment to recognize the efforts of 
one of my Long Island constituents, Diane Sackett Nannery, who has 
proposed the creation of a special pink ribbon postage stamp to help 
bolster breast cancer awareness in our Nation. Such a stamp would serve 
as a strong reminder of the magnitude of this disease, while 
reinforcing public health officials' efforts to promote the benefits of 
early detection.
  I believe this stamp deserves the strong and immediate support of the 
United States Postmaster General. Today I am forwarding a letter to the 
Postmaster General--signed by all 100 U.S. Senators--urging his support 
for the prompt approval of the important breast cancer awareness stamp. 
I am hopeful that the voice of our Nations' women will be heard through 
this unanimous statement by their elected officials, and that this 
stamp will soon become a reality.
  Just as I am heartened by the overwhelming support for this stamp, I 
am likewise encouraged by the tremendous public response the Race for 
the Cure has received over its short history. In just 6 years, the 
national Race for the Cure has grown to become the largest 5K race in 
the country, with close to 20,000 participants expected in 1995. True 
to its name, those who enter run not to win the race to the finish 
line, but to help our Nation win the race against the clock to discover 
a cure for this devastating disease.
  Mr. President, I want to commend all those involved in planning, 
organizing, supporting, and, not least of all, running in this 
important event. I hope that it will exceed all expectations, and that 
it will bring us closer to the day when the horrible ravages of breast 
cancer are a thing of the past.
  Madam President, this great race, Race for the Cure, which is going 
to take place Saturday here in our Nation's capital, is just a small 
part of what my colleagues are attempting to do, and I am proud to be 
associated with them in this endeavor.
  Let me also say that yesterday I was able to obtain the signature of 
every single Member of this body, 100 Senators, within a matter of 
several hours that would ask of the Postmaster General that a stamp be 
commemorated to bring about breast cancer awareness.
  One of my constituents, Diane Sackett Nannery, proposed that there be 
the creation of a special pink ribbon postage stamp to help bolster 
breast cancer awareness in our Nation. And as I said I am very proud of 
my colleagues for the manner in which all of them were so supportive of 
this attempt to create a greater awareness in our Nation so that we can 
do more in our efforts to find not only the cure but also to do more in 
detection and prevention.
  I can say to you that there has probably been no area in our Nation 
that has been harder hit than Long Island, my hometown, Nassau County, 
where we have the highest rate of breast cancer in the United States, a 
sad distinction to have.
  So I want to commend my colleagues for their leadership, and I want 
to say that I am tremendously encouraged by the tremendous public 
response for the Race for the Cure, not only here but I think 
nationwide. We have brought people together with this magnificent 
endeavor.
  I yield the floor and thank my colleagues.
  Mr. BRADLEY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Madam President, how much time do I have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. One minute fifty-five seconds.
  Mr. BRADLEY. I yield all my time to the Senator from Washington.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.


               Breast Cancer--A Threat to Women's Health

  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
expressing support for research on breast cancer and the Race for the 
Cure. This frightening disease has taken the lives of far too many 
women, and the long list of those who have died include many of my own 
friends.
  As has been stated, breast cancer is a growing public health problem 
in this Nation and a great threat to women's health. Many women are 
very confused about the mixed messages being sent to us today about 
breast cancer. One year we are told to have annual mammograms beginning 
at the age of 40. The next year, after we faithfully comply with that, 
we are told something else. We remain worried and confused, and it is 
time for better research on the issue.
  Clearly, research has to be done. More needs to be done in prevention 
and treatment of breast cancer, and the Race for the Cure is a way for 
all of us to express our desire to do better in this and to bring this 
to the public's attention.
  I think it is an opportune time also for this Senate to recognize 
that it has been 6 months without a Surgeon General. Dr. Foster has the 
ability, if appointed, to bring this issue to the forefront of this 
Nation, and I hope that the majority leader brings Dr. Foster's 
nomination to the Senate expeditiously so that we can, again, have 
another way of making sure that women's health diseases are brought to 
the Nation's forefront.
  I will be joining my husband and my children this weekend in the Race 
for the Cure. I urge all of my colleagues to not only walk the walk but 
talk the talk and get some good research done on this issue.
  I thank my colleague from New Jersey.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Madam President, as we conclude this morning business on 
the Race for the Cure, I simply pay tribute to a member of my staff, 
Katie Konnorton, who has coordinated the 56 people who will come from 
my office, associated with it, family members and staff members, to 
make the race on Saturday. She deserves a lot of credit.
  I think because of her and because of the commitment of other people 
on the staff, we will have a tremendous turnout, and I hope that other 
Senators' offices--I am very pleased the Senator from Washington is 
going to be there with her family, I respect that--I hope other 
Senators might check off that Saturday is the day for them to be 
counted for the cure for breast cancer: The Race for the Cure, 
Saturday, Senators' offices here in Washington. It sends the message of 
early detection and fight for a cure. I thank the Chair.


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