[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 43 (Thursday, March 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER ACT BY MARY ANN WAYGAN

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                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 1999

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, standing in front of our nation's Capitol 
today was Mary Ann Waygan, a woman from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who 
joined with Senators Chafee, Mikulski, and Smith in introducing the 
Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. As an original cosponsor of 
the House version of this legislation, I would like to share with you 
her eloquent testimony of those affected by this tragic disease.

                      Statement of Mary Ann Waygan

       Hello, my name is Mary Ann Waygan and I am the coordinator 
     for the CDC Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative for Cape 
     Cod, Massachusetts.
       Before I begin, I would like to thank Senators Chafee, 
     Mikulski, Snowe and Moynihan for sponsoring this legislation. 
     I would also like to thank Senator Smith for his support of 
     this bill.
       Clearly, the single largest problem facing the Breast and 
     Cervical Cancer Screening Program today is finding resources 
     and caregivers to provide treatment to the women who are 
     diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. The lack of 
     treatment dollars is one of the biggest policy gaps in the 
     program--and the problem is only getting worse.
       The barriers to recruiting providers for charity care are 
     growing, and funding for the treatment is an ad-hoc system 
     that relies on volunteers, state workers and others to find 
     treatment services. In the community, we go to tremendous 
     ends to find treatment--and raise money to help pay for it. 
     I've organized luncheons, bake sales, raffles--you name it. 
     Anything to raise money for women who could not afford to pay 
     out of pocket for treatment. Despite these efforts, all too 
     often, we come up short.
       Funding for treatment through the CDC program is the 
     biggest problem I face as a coordinator and frankly a barrier 
     to screening and detection. Funding for treatment is tenuous 
     at best. Without passage of the Breast and Cervical Cancer 
     Treatment Act, future funding for treatment for these women 
     will remain uncertain.
       I want to tell you one story in particular that clearly 
     illustrates the problem some of these women face. A woman who 
     lives in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts who was diagnosed with 
     breast cancer through the CDC program.
       Arlene McMann is a married woman in her early forties with 
     two teenage sons and no health insurance.
       When Arlene was diagnosed with breast cancer through the 
     CDC screening program, she was devastated--not just with the 
     diagnosis, but with the fact that she had no way to pay for 
     the treatment she needed.
       Faced with that situation, she and her husband were forced 
     to use the $20,000 they had been saving for years to pay for 
     their children's college tuition. In less than a year, that 
     money was gone. After that, she and her husband were forced 
     to go into debt to pay for her ongoing chemotherapy/radiation 
     treatment and other procedures including a craniotomy and 
     gall bladder surgery. They are now more than $40,000 in debt, 
     were forced to move into a much smaller house and lost their 
     dream of sending their sons to college without going into 
     further debt.
       The additional stress and pressure placed on Arlene and her 
     husband by this situation has turned a difficult situation 
     into an almost unbearable one. To make it even worse, Arlene 
     recently found out that the cancer has spread to her hip, 
     pelvis, lungs and liver.
       Through all of this, Arlene has showed tremendous resolve. 
     Despite being in pain and discomfort and forced to use a 
     wheelchair, Arlene desperately wanted to be here today to 
     share her story with you directly. She thought it was 
     important for everyone to understand not just what the cancer 
     had done to her, but what the effect of having to take on 
     this incredible financial burden had done to her physical 
     health, mental strength and family resources.
       Due to her condition, Arlene's treatment finally is being 
     paid because she qualified for disability. But to this day, 
     Arlene is convinced that her cancer would not have spread had 
     she been able to afford regular visits to an oncologist.
       Arlene's energy and determination to fight this disease and 
     remain positive are amazing. I feel lucky to know her and to 
     have worked with her. I only wish that as the program 
     coordinator, I could have done more--that I could have 
     assured her that any treatment she needed would be paid for 
     and that she wouldn't have to spend time dealing with bank 
     statements, mortgages or packing boxes on top of everything 
     else.
       In summary, we hear over and over again that early 
     detection saves lives. In actuality, early detection alone 
     does nothing but find the disease; detection must be coupled 
     with guaranteed, quality treatment to actually save lives.
       We must pass the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act 
     to make sure that screening and treatment always go together.
       I would like to thank the National Breast Cancer Coalition 
     for its leadership role in working to get this legislation 
     passed and thank the members of Congress here today for 
     sponsoring and supporting this legislation.

     

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