[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E407]]
  AUTHORIZING USE OF CAPITOL GROUNDS FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS EVENT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 1998

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Con. Res. 238, legislation authorizing the use of the Capitol grounds 
for a breast cancer survivors' event sponsored by the National Race for 
the Cure Organization on April 1.
  As a woman and a mother, I feel that there are few issues as 
important to women's health as the breast cancer epidemic facing our 
nation. As you may know, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed 
cancer in American women today. An estimated 2.6 million women in the 
United States are living with breast cancer. Currently, there are 1.8 
million women in this country who have been diagnosed with breast 
cancer and 1 million more who do not yet know that they have the 
disease. It was estimated that in 1996, 184,300 new cases of breast 
cancer would be diagnosed and 44,300 women would die from the disease. 
Breast cancer costs this country more than $6 billion each year in 
medical expenses and lost productivity.
  These statistics are powerful indeed, but they cannot possibly 
capture the heartbreak of this disease which impacts not only the women 
who are diagnosed, but their husbands, children and families.
  Sadly, the death rate from breast cancer has not been reduced in more 
than 50 years. One out of four women with breast cancer dies within the 
first 5 years; 40 percent die within 10 years of diagnosis. 
Furthermore, the incidence of breast cancer among American women is 
rising each year. One out of eight women in the United States will 
develop breast cancer in her lifetime--a risk that was one in fourteen 
in 1960. For women ages 30 to 34, the incidence rate tripled between 
1973 and 1987; the rate quadrupled for women ages 35 to 39 during the 
same period.
  I am particularly concerned about studies which have found that 
African American women are twice as likely as white women to have their 
breast cancer diagnosed at a later stage, after it has already spread 
to the lymph nodes. One study by the Agency for Health Care Policy and 
Research found that African American women were significantly more 
likely than white women to have had a mammogram or to have had no 
mammogram in the 3-year period before development of symptoms or 
diagnosis. Mammography was protective against later stage diagnosis in 
white women, but not in black women.
  We have made great progress in the past few years by bringing this 
issue to the nation's attention. Events such as last October's Breast 
Cancer Awareness Month and the National Race for the Cure are crucial 
to sustaining this attention. I look forward to continuing to support 
my own local ``Race for the Cure in Houston.''
  Let's support these brave women in their fight against this dangerous 
disease. We have the opportunity with a simple ``yes'' vote to signal 
Congress's commitment to finding a cure to this deadly disease. I urge 
all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 238.

                          ____________________