[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 39 (Thursday, March 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER TREATMENT ACT OF 1999

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 1999

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about two diseases we 
all hope to avoid but which often touches too many of our lives--breast 
and cervical cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, breast and cervical cancer are killers. Breast cancer 
kills over 46,000 women each year and is the leading cause of death 
among women between 40 and 45. Cervical cancer will kill, 4,400 of our 
wives, daughters, mothers and sisters this year.
  In 1990, Congress took the first step to fight breast and cervical 
cancer by passing the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention 
Act. This law authorized a breast and cervical cancer-screening program 
for low-income, uninsured or underinsured women through the Centers for 
Disease Control (CDC).
  This law was an important first step, but it was only a first step. 
While the current program covers screening services, it does not cover 
treatment for women who are found to be positive through the program. 
The bill I am introducing today with my colleagues, Representatives 
Lazio, Capps, and Ros-Lehtinen, takes the next critical step by 
providing lifesaving treatment for these dreaded diseases.
  Our bill, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act of 1999, would 
establish an optional state Medicaid benefit for the coverage of 
certain women who were screened and diagnosed with breast or cervical 
cancer under the CDC National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early 
Detection Program.
  Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, we possess the technology to detect and 
treat breast and cervical cancer. But we must pair this with the will 
to help women fight these diseases. The current method of providing 
treatment is through an ad hoc patchwork of providers, volunteers, and 
local programs that often results in unpredictable, delayed, or 
incomplete. Our bill would provide a consistent, reliable method of 
treatment for uninsured and underinsured women fighting breast or 
cervical cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that over 90 of my colleagues from 
both sides of the aisle have already signed on to be original co-
sponsors of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. These members 
who have shown their support for this bill recognize that breast and 
cervical cancer are not only women's diseases. For the son who has lost 
a mother, the husband who has lost a wife, or the mother who has lost a 
daughter, this disease is a family disease.
  In the last decade we have made great strides in diagnosing and 
treating breast and cervical cancer. But the causes of these cancers 
remain unknown and for many women how they will pay for their treatment 
remains unknown as well. Mr. Speaker, our hope is that Breast and 
Cervical Cancer Treatment Act will help change that.




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