[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 53 (Monday, May 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S4216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ``IT'S MY FIGHT, TOO''

 Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
women, men, and their families who are fighting the scourge of breast 
cancer. As many of my colleagues may remember, last Spring, I submitted 
S. Res. 85, with my fellow Senator from New Hampshire, recognizing the 
family and friends of breast cancer patients in the struggle to cope 
with this disease. The Senate passed my Resolution by unanimous consent 
and expressed their overwhelming support for individuals who provide 
strength and support for loved ones fighting breast cancer. I come to 
the floor today to again note the importance of this expression and to 
recognize a very important organization in my home state of New 
Hampshire that is spreading this message to breast cancer patients 
across the country.
  The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1998, 178,700 new cases 
of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United 
States and 1,600 cases will be diagnosed among men. These numbers more 
than triple in size when you consider the family and friends who are 
also impacted by the disease. With each and every one of these cases 
comes family and friends who are looked upon to provide the caring and 
loving needed to overcome such a terrifying disease.
  The Northeast Health Care Quality Foundation, in Dover, New 
Hampshire, has done an excellent job of expressing this notion to the 
people of New Hampshire and beyond. With their campaign titled, ``It's 
My Fight, Too,'' the Foundation has let individuals afflicted with 
breast cancer know that they are not alone in their struggle. It is 
important for the family to understand that their feelings are shared 
by others in their same situation and that they should find strength in 
numbers.
  Awareness campaigns like ``It's My Fight Too,'' are extremely 
important to foster an environment where support for both the 
individual with breast cancer and their family and friends is 
encouraged. Awareness is the key to allowing people to understand and 
identify with those suffering around them. We can all, as community 
members, provide support and strength to those in need.
  As Mother's Day approaches, the Northeast Health Care Quality 
Foundation will be holding their annual event to recognize the 
important women in our lives who may or may not be suffering from this 
disease but who never the less, need to know that breast cancer is not 
just a women's disease but a struggle that can be fought by all of us 
together. Their event, ``Family and Friends Against Breast Cancer, It's 
My Fight Too, A Night of Hope, Song and Love'' will bring people from 
across the Northeast together to express the same support the Senate 
expressed with the passage of S. Res. 85. I commend the efforts of the 
Northeast Health Care Quality Foundation and encourage organizations 
across the country to follow their leadership and example.

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