[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11571-H11572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MAINTAIN COMMITMENT TO BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Lowey] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my outstanding colleague, 
the gentlewoman from New York, Carolyn Maloney, for organizing this 
special order.
  Mr. Speaker, over 15 years ago I lost my mother to breast cancer, and 
tonight I rise not only in honor of my mother, but of all the mothers, 
all the sisters and daughters, the wives, who have died of breast 
cancer.

[[Page H11572]]

  Mr. Speaker, I also rise tonight to salute the many women who have 
survived this terrible disease--and there are many survivors. We know 
the grim statistics: in the last 20 years, the incidence of breast 
cancer has increased by 20 percent. Twenty years ago, 1 in 20 women 
developed breast cancer. Today, it is 1 in 8. Most Americans have known 
someone--a mother, sister, friend or coworker affected by this terrible 
tragedy.
  Breast cancer is an extremely complex disease and we are 
unfortunately far from a cure. We have many more questions about breast 
cancer than answers. Solving the mystery of breast cancer is like 
working on an incredibly complicated and frustrating puzzle. Each piece 
of this puzzle solved is a small victory. The Federal Government's 
research is helping us to solve this puzzle and to slowly answer these 
unanswered questions.
  One of these unanswered questions is the role the environment plays 
in breast cancer. Another is the importance of genetics in determining 
who develops the disease and who does not. Still another question is 
whether diet can reduce a women's risk of breast cancer.

  There is mounting evidence that exposure to pesticides may contribute 
to breast cancer. For example, a study done several years ago at Mt. 
Sinai Medical Center in New York found that women with the highest 
levels of a pesticide compound in their blood were four times more 
likely to have breast cancer than other women. Another study in Israel 
found a 10-percent drop in breast cancer during the same time that 
there was a drop in the levels of pesticides in human and cow milk. The 
Long Island breast cancer study will help to answer many other 
important questions regarding the link between environmental and 
occupational factors in breast cancer. But again, many unanswered 
questions remain.
  Science has also recently begun to document a genetic link to breast 
cancer. The breast cancer gene is thought to account for 5 percent of 
all breast cancer cases but 25 percent of the breast cancer in women 
under age 30.
  Last month, researchers found a particular mutation of this breast 
cancer gene in 1 percent of a study of Jewish women of Eastern European 
background. Jewish women with a family history of breast cancer who 
were found to have this gene had a very high risk of developing breast 
cancer. However, we don't know what kind of risk women face who have 
this gene but do not have a family history of breast cancer. So it 
makes no sense to test women for this gene until we know more. Again, 
many unanswered questions remain.
  Lastly, scientists are beginning to develop a link between nutrition 
and breast cancer. But again, our knowledge is scanty. We know that the 
risk of breast cancer increases with the degree of obesity. One small 
study showed that moderate alcohol use might even increase a woman's 
risk of cancer because of the influence of alcohol on hormones. 
Research continues to tell us that a low-fat, high-fiber diet may 
decrease our risk of many cancers including breast cancer. Exercise may 
also reduce the risk of the disease. But again, many unanswered 
questions remain.

  Breast cancer poses one of the major scientific challenges of today. 
I urge my colleagues to look at the many unanswered questions as a 
challenge to continue to maintain the Federal Government's commitment 
to breast cancer research and the enforcement of environmental 
regulations. We must not abandon our commitment to the women of 
America.
  But funding research is not enough. We must support efforts to 
regulate exposures to chemicals strongly suspected of being linked to 
breast cancer. Tomorrow we will vote on a motion by Representative 
Stokes to allow the EPA to enforce the Delaney clause. The Delaney 
clause protects processed foods from contamination by known carcinogens 
but Congress has voted to restrict EPA from enforcing the Delaney 
clause. Congress has also tied EPA's hands by cutting its budget by 
one-third. This is an outrage. Members have a chance tomorrow to 
support the Stokes motion to demonstrate that they are truly serious 
about addressing the breast cancer epidemic.

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