[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1082-S1083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 261. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide, 
with respect to research on breast cancer, for the increased 
involvement of advocates in decisionmaking at the National Cancer 
Institute; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce a bill which 
builds on progress made in the last few years in the difficult and 
challenging fight against breast cancer.
  Our challenge was summed up by one breast cancer advocate when she 
stated, simply and eloquently, ``We must

[[Page S1083]]

make our voices heard, because it is our lives.''
  A diagnosis of breast cancer is something that every woman dreads. 
Over 192,000 American women, and 1,000 in my home state of Maine--will 
face a diagnosis of breast cancer this year. Over 40,000 women across 
the country will die from this tragic disease. The fact is, one in nine 
women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, and for women 
between the ages of 35 and 54, there is no other disease which will 
claim more lives.
  This bill will give breast cancer advocates a voice in the National 
Institutes of Health's, NIH's research decision-making. The Consumer 
Involvement in Breast Cancer Research Act urges NIH to follow the 
Department Of Defense's lead and include lay breast cancer advocates in 
breast cancer research decision-making.
  The involvement of these breast cancer advocates at DOD has helped 
foster new and innovative breast cancer research funding designs and 
research projects. While maintaining the higher level of quality 
assurance through peer review, breast cancer advocates have helped to 
ensure that all breast cancer research reflects the experiences and 
wisdom of the individuals who have lived with the disease, as well as 
the scientific community.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill.
                                 ______