[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7286-H7294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Flake). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this special order to talk 
about a topic of great importance to all Americans, and in particular 
it has become a great focus of the Women's Caucus here in the United 
States Congress, and that is October being Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month.
  Breast cancer impacts all of us in America in some way. Whether it is 
a family member, a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance, someone who 
goes to church with us, we have all been touched in one way or another 
by breast cancer. So we are going to talk a lot tonight about breast 
cancer and breast cancer awareness and cures for breast cancer.
  As a member of the Women's Caucus of the House, I would like to yield 
to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), who is the cochair of 
the Women's Caucus.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) as the Vice Chair of the women's conference 
for leading this Special Order, along with my cochair of the women's 
conference, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald). I 
am delighted the two of you could do this tonight. It is so important 
that we do this and recognize October as National Breast Cancer 
Awareness Month.
  For far too many Americans, no month of awareness is needed to remind 
them of breast cancer. On a daily basis they and their families and 
friends are well aware of the existence of this disease. Next to skin 
cancer, more women in the United States, about 2 million, live with 
breast cancer, more than with any other form of cancer. This year, some 
233,000 women will be diagnosed and more than 43,000 will die of this 
terrible disease.
  I think it is fair to say that we are all well aware, some painfully 
aware, of breast cancer. But as the American Cancer Society so 
succinctly put it, our challenge is to turn awareness into action. Let 
us turn October into breast cancer action month.
  What does this mean? Well, first it means breast examinations. Thanks 
to early detection techniques, breast cancer can be beaten and life can 
be extended. That is why it is so important for women to have a 
clinical breast examination at least once a year. Between the ages of 
35 and 40, a woman should have at least one mammogram, and then one 
every 1 to 2 years, until the age of 50. After age 50, women should get 
a mammogram each year. That is action.
  Second, in addition to early detection of breast cancer, we must 
support research to find a cure for it. Many of our colleagues and I 
did that when we strongly supported doubling the funding for the 
National Institutes of Health as well as increasing the funding for the 
Department of Defense's Peer Review Breast Cancer Research Program. 
That is action.

[[Page H7287]]

  Now, while scientists have made tremendous advances in the diagnosis 
and treatment of this terrible disease, there still is much more to be 
done. In recent years there has been much discussion over the link 
between the environment and breast cancer, and I believe it imperative 
for scientists to continue to examine this issue.
  This body was good enough last year to grant my request to fund a 
study to examine why the breast cancer mortality rates in my home 
county of Du Page in Illinois are so much higher than in the rest of 
the State and the country. We do not know whether it is environment, 
socio-economic status or other demographics; but we are hopeful this 
study will shed some light on it.
  Mr. Speaker, whether it is through a family member or a friend, 
everyone has been touched by this horrible disease. We are aware of 
breast cancer. We must ensure our awareness turns to action. While we 
do not know yet how to prevent breast cancer, we do know how to help 
women detect it early and treat it more effectively once it is found. 
The successes of recent years give me tremendous hope that we will 
conquer breast cancer. We must all continue to work to achieve this 
goal and ensure a healthier future for the many women and men who will 
face breast cancer during their life times.
  I am so happy we are doing this Special Order tonight to raise that 
awareness and that we can take the action. So, again, I thank the 
gentlewoman.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her 
contributions, not only tonight in discussing an important issue, 
breast cancer awareness and cures and action, but thank her also for 
the efforts she has done on behalf of the women of the House and the 
women of America in terms of shedding light on a lot of issues, health 
and economic issues. I applaud her for all of her issues.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the cochair, the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Millender-McDonald).
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much. 
I join with my cochair, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), 
and all of the women of the House, in recognizing this month as Breast 
Cancer Awareness Month, and to say to the women out in the audience and 
across this country that we wish for you the very best in health, but 
please get tested for this very important, important illness that is 
before us.
  You know, Mr. Speaker, as my cochair has mentioned, October is 
recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month; and as the women 
of the caucus come today in this hour to talk about its importance, we 
also know the importance of funding; funding for education, funding for 
early detection through research, funding for treatment and testing. 
All of those are critical elements in the fight against breast cancer 
now.
  We do recognize that breast cancer is the most common form of cancer 
in women in the United States and its cause and its cure remains 
undiscovered. In 2001, 192,000 new cases of female invasive breast 
cancer will be diagnosed, and 40,200 women will die from this disease. 
We recognize also, Mr. Speaker, that breast cancer is the second 
leading cause of cancer death among all women, after lung cancer being 
number one. But it is the leading overall cause of death in women 
between the ages of 40 and 55. This is why it is critical for women, 
especially women from low-income families, to get tested and treated 
for any trace of breast cancer.
  In the United States, one out of nine women will develop breast 
cancer in her lifetime, a risk that was one out of 14 in just 1960.
  This year, breast cancer will be newly diagnosed every 3 minutes and 
a woman will die from it every 13 minutes. Fundamentally, when breast 
cancer is detected and treated early, the survival rates improve. We 
have seen that, Mr. Speaker, in the death rates in women between 20 and 
69 years of age, which declined by 25 percent in 1990. But, again, 
early detection and treatment are really the areas to credit that 
decline.
  Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. Mammography is 
the best method of breast cancer detection. Mammography can detect 
cancer several years before a woman or her health care provider can 
through the testing, to feel for a lump.
  Throughout this month of October, many mammography facilities around 
the country will offer reduced fee or free screening and extended 
hours. We urge women from low-income families to check their health 
facilities, because this month there will be many reduced fee and free 
screenings for women. There will also be extended hours. So we urge 
women to go and get this testing.
  We also encourage women to protect their health and well-being by 
taking advantage of the mammography services in their communities. 
There are hundreds of community-based breast cancer resource programs 
around this country. They provide information about breast cancer, 
services to breast cancer patients and their families, and are 
committed to raising money in the fight against breast cancer.
  In my district of Compton, California, which I represent that city, 
the Relay for Life program raises awareness, money for detection, and 
celebrates survivorship. I am pleased with the women who are part of 
that Relay for Life program. Twenty-three teams of local citizens 
participated and raised over $20,000 for breast cancer research and 
education just last year. This Relay for Life program in Compton stands 
as an example of what we can accomplish if everyone joins in an effort 
to collectively beat the odds.
  As we well know, the sale of the breast cancer stamp has already 
raised over $22 million in 3 years since its inception. I have teamed 
with my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly), on H.R. 
2725 to extend the stamp for an additional 6 years. With bipartisan 
support from over 206 Members of the House, this bill will provide 
funding for breast cancer research, incurs no cost to taxpayers or the 
Government, has gathered bipartisan support by more than four-fifths of 
the Senate representing all 50 States, and standing as the most 
supported bill in this body since perhaps many a year. It stands among 
the 28 most widely supported House bills of the 107th Congress. It 
requires no new administrative procedures and allows for the creation 
of additional postal stamps on any other issue.
  I hope my colleagues will join the 206 Members who are trying to make 
a difference with this legislation in trying to really find a victory 
and hopefully finding a cure for breast cancer. This summer I even went 
a step further and introduced H.R. 2317 that would have made this 
breast cancer stamp permanent.
  It is imperative, Mr. Speaker, that we support the efforts of 
community-based organizations and women across this Nation to raise the 
awareness and provide support to breast cancer patients and support 
legislation that will increase Federal funds for research and lead to 
improving the treatment for women so that this life-threatening 
condition can be eliminated.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to raise your voices, open your 
hearts, and strengthen your resolve to educate communities for the 
fight for adequate funding, so that women can maintain their health and 
vitality.
  At this time I would like to thank the American Cancer Society and 
the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation for their strong efforts in 
the awareness, the treatment through funding, and for their different 
programs that they have in providing the Beat Cancer pins and ribbons 
that we are using today and also for their many efforts.

                              {time}  1745

  I will just yield back now to the gentlewoman from West Virginia 
(Mrs. Capito), as we have several speakers on this side of the room who 
wish to speak.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from 
California for her wonderful advocacy in terms of raising the awareness 
of breast cancer today, but I would also like to thank her for, as a 
new member of the Women's Caucus, and as a new woman Member to the 
House, for her leadership on so many issues. I have learned a great 
deal in the Women's Caucus meetings that she and the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) put together.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know that breast cancer, while it strikes women 
in much greater numbers, men are also many times victims of breast 
cancer, but

[[Page H7288]]

men can also be victims of breast cancer because many times their wives 
or daughters are stricken. So I am pleased to have here today the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) to speak on breast cancer 
awareness.
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I must 
confess I feel a bit like an intruder as the only male speaker here 
this evening. But I did want to express concern and appreciation and 
also give a little perspective on it from someone who is a bit older 
than most of those speaking tonight.
  I remember some years ago when breast cancer was unmentionable, and 
it was a very serious mistake in our society, because my experience was 
that up until the 1950s, suddenly someone would die and you would say, 
what happened, and the response would be, oh, she had breast cancer. 
There was no discussion of it ahead of time. There was no discussion in 
the media or among the public about the disease, about its causes, its 
cures and so forth.
  I want to rise, first of all, to pay personal tribute to one of my 
heroes, and that is Betty Ford who occupied the White House, and she 
was the first American woman who openly discussed breast cancer and 
opened the floodgates for the women of this country. Ever since then it 
has been a topic discussed very freely; there is constant information 
available about the nature of the disease, how to detect it, how to 
prevent it that simply was not around before that. This is one reason, 
incidentally, that I nominated her for the Congressional Gold Medal 2 
years ago at the same time I nominated her husband. It is the first 
case in which both a President and First Lady received a Congressional 
Gold Medal, but I felt she deserved it as much as her husband because 
of what she had done in the area of breast cancer.
  I want to mention something else that is rarely known or noticed or 
discussed, and the gentlewoman referred to it a moment ago in her 
introductory comments, and that is that men also have breast cancer. It 
is far less frequent, but almost always undiscovered until it is far 
advanced, because most men simply do not know that it is a male disease 
also, and we should be aware of that.
  One other point I would like to make, and this wanders a bit from the 
topic, so I hope my colleagues will allow me to do that. But in my work 
on the State level chairing the Public Health Committee and analyzing 
the situation, I discovered that prostate cancer for men was at the 
same awareness level that breast cancer for women was in the 1950s. Men 
did not talk about it. Men did not get the exam and so forth. I am very 
pleased that in my position there I was able to get money appropriated 
to publicize this, to provide for public exams and so forth. We must 
publicize that in this country as well. This is not a hidden disease, 
as breast cancer was not, even though we treated it that way a half a 
century ago. Currently, the fatality rate for prostate cancer among men 
is greater than the fatality rate for breast cancer among women. We 
really have a lot more to do in that area as well.
  So I appreciate the gentlewoman scheduling this Special Order. It is 
absolutely essential to call attention to the need for more mammograms, 
more detailed mammograms, and I am pleased as a scientist that we 
continue to make progress in the quality of mammograms. My wife has 
kept me fully informed of this, as an experience that used to be very, 
very painful and not very valuable has now become virtually painless. 
The quality of the last mammogram she had, as she recounted it to me, 
was simply exceptional, and I am very pleased to see these continuing 
scientific and medical advances. I am also very, very grateful that the 
cure rate is getting so much better. I have so many friends who are 
survivors of breast cancer, 3 alone just in the past year. I am just 
grateful that we continue to make advances in treatment and cure as 
well.
  So I thank the gentlewoman again for having this Special Order. It is 
absolutely essential to call attention to this. Let us make sure that 
all of us work together, male and female, Republican and Democrat, to 
ensure that we eradicate this horrible disease.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I enjoy his insight 
into not only the possibilities of males having breast cancer, but I 
think we need to raise the awareness of that, and then the hope that we 
all have to find this, eradicate it, find a cure. So I am pleased that 
the gentleman was able to join us this evening.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, we do thank the gentleman for 
coming today, because although we recognize that it is not an alarming 
number of breast cancer victims on the male side, still men do get it, 
so I thank him so much.
  Ms. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield at this time to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Eshoo), an outstanding member of the Women's Caucus.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, my 
colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle, and everyone that is 
here tonight to raise the flag during October, which is National Breast 
Cancer Awareness Month in our Nation. It is a very important time for 
everyone in the country, and I thank our colleague for just talking 
about yesteryear when breast cancer, 2 words, really were not uttered. 
It was a source of embarrassment, it was a secret, it was something 
that was just between a woman and her physician, and that has changed, 
and it has changed enormously.
  Today, in the year 2001, while we do not know or have not found a 
cure for breast cancer, much has been done in order to make progress to 
reach that goal. That is why I think October is especially important.
  Today, October 24, is the first anniversary to the day that a bill 
was signed into law that so many of us were a part of. Now, one might 
think that legislation that was written some time ago to address 
underinsured and uninsured women relative to treatment would be an 
absolutely simple idea that would flow through the Congress. Well, 
while we had more than a majority of Members that had signed on to the 
bill, there were still enough Members in the Congress to play havoc 
with it and to play politics. But a year ago today, that bill that I 
referred to, and my colleagues that are here right now were the 
stalwarts that helped raise this up and make it a law, the breast and 
cervical cancer bill was signed into law.
  Now, what was that bill all about and what has happened in a year's 
time? I think it is unprecedented.
  First of all, we have constituents that came to us that were able to 
take advantage of a program that a much earlier Congress, and I believe 
the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) was a part of at that 
time, where women could apply through a program of the Centers for 
Disease Control, the CDC, they could go locally and be able to get the 
tests that would tell them what shape they were in, essentially. It is 
a very good law and there were many women who applied for that and were 
able to use it. However, the Congress had not taken the necessary steps 
that once any of those women were detected to have breast cancer, that 
they could then seek treatment. So we essentially said, we will help 
you find out, but when you find out that you are victimized by this 
disease and also by a lack of insurance coverage, by the way, in this 
country, that you were on your own. There was story after story that 
came to us, because we had hearings on this, and the legislation was 
written.
  Today, because of the law that was signed into law, the bill that was 
signed into law, there are now I believe 33 States that have taken up 
the call to use the funding that we fought so darn hard for in this 
bill. We had to have money in the bill to encourage States to place 
monies next to Federal dollars in order to carry out the treatment of 
these underinsured and uninsured women.

  Now, who are these women? They are the women that we meet in the 
coffee shop that wait on us, the waitresses, the older women that went 
into the workforce later on in their lives, but spent most of their 
lives raising their children. Sometimes their husbands left them. They 
had absolutely no insurance coverage whatsoever.
  So I think that the Congress did a very, very good thing a year ago 
today. I know it was a great day of victory.
  What I want to bring into focus this evening is how important women 
and their families are across the country, because were it not for the 
advocates

[[Page H7289]]

that constantly came to the Hill, that sent their e-mails to Members 
and to key Members of Congress to make this happen, all under the 
umbrella, really, and the organizing genius of the National Breast 
Cancer Coalition in our country. They came to Washington over and over 
again. Their stories inspired us. By the time this bill was signed into 
law a year ago today, there were women that had come to the Hill that 
did not enjoy the news because they had lost their lives to breast 
cancer.
  So I want to salute the National Breast Cancer Coalition in our 
country for the work that they did to help make this possible.
  I would like to read into the Record the States that are now 
participating in this program, and they are in alphabetical order. I 
think it is a real honor. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, 
California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, 
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington 
State, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
  So if anyone in the Congress wonders whether we can make a 
difference, whether when we raise our voices to change a system, to add 
on to it, to pay attention to our constituents and their stories, we 
can indeed make a difference in our time, we can do something noble 
that is going to enhance the lives of American families.
  So thank you to those families, thank you to the advocates, thank you 
to the women of the Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, when we run for office, we are so often asked, 
especially as women, do you think that we should vote for you just 
because you are a woman? My response during my campaign was, no, that 
is not enough. But understand that when women go to the Congress, they 
take their life experiences to that public table. We know we have very 
complicated bodies. We know that mammography and its standards needed 
to be raised. It was the women in the Congress that did that.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to place into the Record my thanks to a 
very courageous man in the Congress and that is our colleague, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha). He has been really the 
guardian angel of and created the funds through the Department of 
Defense, $175 million, that is directed toward the research for breast 
cancer, and he is recognized across our Nation and our Women's Caucus 
for the work that he does really very quietly year in and year out. So 
we pay tribute to him.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the women that are tuned in this 
evening and might be listening to us that we hope that we have made you 
proud of not only the Women's Caucus, but the women that have come to 
the Congress. I want to salute my colleagues, past and present, upon 
whose shoulders we stand. I see the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Slaughter) is here who, before I came to the Congress, was doing this 
work. I want to thank my colleagues that are the cochairs of the 
Women's Caucus. It is a very important vehicle.

                              {time}  1800

  I know, as Auntie Mame says, that we have miles to go and places to 
see, but we will continue that fight. We will not rest until we find 
the cure for this disease that has victimized too many.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Eshoo), and I commend her for her hard work in this 
area.
  I was extremely gratified to see that when they got to the W's, that 
she did name West Virginia as one of the States taking advantage of 
those very, very critical funds in terms of breast cancer detection.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from California 
(Mrs. Capps).
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia, for yielding time to me. I appreciate being able to 
stand here. It is an honor to join with my colleagues on this important 
topic of breast cancer and Breast Cancer Awareness Month being in 
October.
  Mr. Speaker, our colleague who just spoke referenced the fact that 
when we women come to Congress, we bring our life stories with us. I 
have in front of me as I speak today the face of my sister, my sister 
Frieda, who a year ago was going about her life, but in the ensuing 
months in November got the report back from her mammogram and then her 
biopsy, and indeed, needed to go through that whole year of treatment, 
which was surgery on both breasts and followed by chemotherapy, 
followed by radiation. It is a very daunting challenge that so many 
women face across this country.
  So I speak of this opportunity in this place; but I speak also about 
my sister, and all the many sisters we have across this land today.
  It was indeed a highlight of mine in the last session of Congress to 
be a part of the effort, it really felt like a groundswell, to see 
enacted the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act which my 
colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), just referred 
to, and highlighted and outlined its importance.
  It is an honor for me to be part of the legislation which is 
currently finding its way, the bill by the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), 
which requires that NIH conduct studies to see if there is an 
environmental connection between breast cancer and the statistics that 
we find ourselves with today.
  I am pleased to be part of the effort to reauthorize the breast 
cancer stamp, which has generated so much needed revenue for breast 
cancer research and efforts.
  I am proud to be part of the effort to double the funding for the 
National Institutes of Health, where so much important research 
continues in this area.
  We must not forget that it is a very vital part of the Patients' Bill 
of Rights, the reforming that is needed for our managed care system 
which will allow the inclusion of clinical studies to be part of health 
insurance plans.
  But I want to also give recognition to the important, remarkable work 
that women have done across this country on their own, the coalitions 
that have built up: the Race for the Cure; the event that just 
transformed my community this last weekend, the Avon three-day event.
  On last Friday morning, 3,000 folks came out to send off the team 
taking part in this major fundraising effort to raise awareness but 
also funding, funding that is so needed in the area of breast cancer 
research and treatment.
  It is the national breast cancer coalitions indeed, as has been 
mentioned already, which have spearheaded much of the legislation that 
we are following through with here. That is the way it should be done.
  The inspiration comes from the lives and hearts and communities where 
women and their families and their loved ones, and men as well, face 
the diagnosis, are strong in the face of it, and go forward.
  As the situation has changed over the years with breast cancer, I 
give great credit to those who were out in front insisting that it be a 
topic we talk about, insisting that it have its place in our research 
dollars and in our treatment efforts, and that it be also such an 
important part of the awareness of all people in the country, and those 
women who seek to have treatment after a diagnosis; and that they are 
willing to go through that and have their treatments and exams each 
year.
  Then I will close with my own story, because 2 weeks ago it was my 
turn to go for my annual mammogram, which I do every year, and to have 
come back some questions, some doubts; and to have the radiologist sit 
down with me and say, I think you need to have a stereotactic biopsy. 
My heart began to pound, even though I knew that the chances are that 
it could be benign. All women who face this in the waiting room of 
whichever place they go for screening know that feeling.
  So I was scheduled and had the biopsy. Then you wait again for the 
news from the surgeon. I am very grateful that my story was good. At 
this point it is negative. I will follow the course of revisiting, re-
examinations. I will be faithful in doing that.

  But as I stand here and talk about this very personal experience for 
me, I am aware that today in this country there are places where women 
do not know to go to get a mammogram;

[[Page H7290]]

where it is hard to find the clinic, it is hard to get time off from 
work to do it, it is hard to make these pieces come together.
  Also, there is a lot of fear still in the hearts of people across 
this land. This word ``cancer'' is a scary word and an ominous word, 
and one that we want to put under the bed and under the carpet and not 
have to face it.
  I urge those who are part of our discussion this afternoon to spread 
the word to acknowledge the fact that, yes, there was once a time when 
it was truly something to be terrified of, but though it is still a 
tough diagnosis, that the treatment rate is so much advanced, so much 
improved; that there is much hope there. We stand here in Congress able 
and willing to continue the work so that one day it will not only be a 
treatable disease, but one that we can look forward to its elimination.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the 
gentlewoman from California, for her insight and for sharing her 
personal story, because I think it shows that a proactive approach to 
diagnosis does not necessarily end in a bad way; but it ends in a way 
to put one on high alert, so one knows as the years and months go by 
that we need to be retested and relooked at and be very aware of how 
our bodies are developing.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Kingston), who has come in to share some of his insights into breast 
cancer and breast cancer awareness. I thank the gentleman for joining 
us today.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia 
for yielding to me and want to thank my other colleagues for the hard 
work they have done over the many years on this important issue.
  As a member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, 
Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies of the Committee on 
Appropriations, this is something that we have made a priority with the 
FDA in terms of breast cancer testing and screening.
  I remember years ago the FDA gave us an example of something that 
they had not yet approved of, and it was a self-testing device that was 
a very thin piece of kind of a rubbery substance maybe about 6 inches 
in diameter. It was a circle, and you would apply it to your chest, and 
it was an amazing thing, because it could pick up a grain of salt and 
make it magnified on the fingertips, so women who wanted to do this 
sort of self-testing could do it at home. It was not foolproof, but it 
would raise the awareness level.
  Our argument with the FDA is if they just approve this, then people 
can do this self-test and it will be on their minds. That is one of the 
things that we need to do is make sure that the testing is on women's 
minds.
  I am very fortunate that my mother has had it on her mind over the 
number of years, because about 1 month ago she found out, very sadly, 
and to her shock and our family's sadness, that she had breast cancer. 
And fortunately, because of her proactiveness, we were able to get a 
good analysis.
  Yesterday she had actually had the operation for it. I talked to my 
sister in Denver who had flown out from Dallas where she lives and 
spent the night with my mother in the hospital, and she said that Mom 
is doing well and should be home tonight.
  Just before the gentlewoman yielded the time, I called out to 
Colorado to get a medical report. I regret I do not have one right now. 
But last night, after the operation, things were doing well; and so we 
are all prayerfully standing by.
  But think about how fortunate we are in my own family that medical 
technology is such that a lump the size of a pin's head had been 
discovered, and that because of this proactivity, Mom is hopefully home 
tonight, and also will continue to be with us for 50 and 60 or a couple 
hundred more years.
  So this is relevant. This is the type of legislation that affects all 
of our families. It is the type of activity that we can do in our 
congressional offices that goes to each American home and family.
  I am glad October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the other 11 
should be, as well. I am glad we celebrate Mother's Day; but we should 
also celebrate it not just once a year, but all during the year.
  As a boy who traumatically was raised with three sisters, the only 
boy in the family, I can say, God bless womanhood, I love them all; and 
I am glad that my sisters have the opportunity to benefit from this 
legislation, and that my wife and my two daughters will, as well.
  So I think the research has to continue, the awareness has to 
continue, the education campaign has to continue. I am proud to see 
that the gentlewomen are taking leadership on this and doing it on a 
bipartisan basis.

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Good luck to his 
mother. I know she is in good hands.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. 
Slaughter), my vice-chair counterpart.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman yielding to 
me.
  I want to join my colleagues in recognizing October as National 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, because no disease is feared so much by 
American women as breast cancer.
  At this moment, 3 million women in our Nation are living with breast 
cancer, 2 million have been diagnosed, and 1 million's cancer remains 
undetected. In 2001 alone, there will be 233,000 new cases of breast 
cancer in the United States, making it the number two cancer diagnosis 
among women. This year, 40,000 women will die of the disease. To put 
this in perspective, a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed every 2 
minutes, and an American woman dies of breast cancer every 13 minutes.
  To be sure, we have come a long way in the last few decades. There 
was a time not so long ago when breast cancer was not considered polite 
conversation. Women suffered and died in virtual isolation, because no 
one would talk about this silent scourge.
  But today, however, it is different. We have public education 
programs urging women to have mammograms. Programs are available for 
low-income women to receive screening; and as of last year, as the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo) pointed out, with her bill they 
can get treatment.
  It must have been the worst thing in the world, before this bill was 
passed, to be diagnosed with breast cancer and have no ability whatever 
to pay for treatment. Chemotherapy drugs are now less toxic and more 
effective; and we even have a drug, Tamoxifen, that can help prevent or 
postpone the onset of breast cancer in women who are at high risk.
  For the first time since records were kept, breast cancer death rates 
actually declined during the 1990s. I am deeply proud of the part we 
played in this caucus in obtaining research funding for breast cancer 
and in ensuring that women were included in all clinical trials.
  But so much more remains to be done. We need better methods of 
detecting breast cancer. The mammogram is an old technology and an 
imperfect one. Some tumors can exist for 6 to 10 years before they are 
detectable with the mammogram machine.
  We need to understand the causes of breast cancer, and then determine 
the steps women can take to reduce the risk. Treatment must be further 
refined so women can defeat breast cancer and enjoy a long and healthy 
lifespan.
  Mr. Speaker, in my judgment as a microbiologist, the future of breast 
cancer research lies along two parallel paths: genetic research and 
environmental studies. Together, these two avenues will lead us to the 
detection, prevention, and treatment methods of the future.
  Genetic research is already well on its way, and scientists have 
identified four separate genes that indicate an increased risk for 
breast cancer, and more that we have not yet identified possibly acting 
in combination with other genes.
  Our understanding of the genetics of breast cancer is in its infancy, 
but it is developing rapidly. We must ensure, however, that genetic 
information is used to help patients and not to harm them. Genetic 
information will be a powerful tool, but it must be used for the right 
purposes.
  In order to safeguard genetic information, my colleague, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), and I have introduced H.R. 
602, the Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment 
Act, which

[[Page H7291]]

will ensure that health insurance companies and employers will not use 
predictive genetic information to deny individuals coverage or job 
opportunities.
  I am pleased to report that this bill has the support of 255 
bipartisan cosponsors and hundreds of organizations involved in health 
care issues. I hope very much the House leadership will allow this 
important bill to come up on the suspension calendar so we can get this 
done before the end of this year.

                              {time}  1815

  It is certain to pass the Senate.
  As important as genetics are, environmental factors are proving to be 
equally significant. Ninety percent of breast cancer victims have no 
family history of the disease, which means something in their 
environment is triggering their cancer.
  Women are more susceptible to environmental toxins for a number of 
reasons. First, they are smaller so toxins since have a greater impact. 
Second, they have a higher proportion of fatty tissue where toxins tend 
to accumulate; and third, they tend to metabolize toxic substances more 
slowly.
  Women may also be at greater risk for disease since they are often 
exposed to higher levels of household chemicals. Many women take 
hormone supplements for birth control or relief of the symptoms of 
menopause. Women experience greater fluctuations in hormone levels 
throughout their lives. They may also affect susceptibility to 
pollutants or to environmental estrogen. This risk may be greatest in 
puberty due to major hormonal changes and the rapid growth of the 
breast tissue.
  For all of these reasons, we must increase our research into the 
impact of the environmental factors on women's health. I am proud to 
co-sponsor the Women's Environmental Health Research Centers Act which 
would establish six centers of excellence on women's health research 
around the Nation.
  H.R. 183 has the support of 48 bipartisan co-sponsors and the wide 
range of organizations concerned with women's health.
  At the beginning of this century, we are standing on a frontier of an 
entire new era of medicine where genetic and environmental health 
research will point us towards entirely new ways of conceiving, 
detecting, preventing and treating disease. We must ensure that this 
new information is used to advance the care of all patients and not to 
undermine their best interests. Neither type of research can take place 
in a vacuum. Instead, they must proceed interlinked and in parallel. If 
we can achieve these goals, then we will have in sight the end to the 
dreadful scourge of breast cancer.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from New 
York and introduce another colleague, the gentlewoman from New York 
(Mrs. Maloney).
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues to 
mark the Breast Cancer Awareness Month and thank the co-chairs of the 
women's caucus for putting this together tonight.
  We have made enormous progress in the fight against breast cancer. We 
have more than doubled the Federal dollars for breast cancer research 
since I came here in 1993. This has been the effort primarily of women 
in the women's caucus, some famous, some infamous, and many men who 
have been our allies and they have helped us get this funding. In 
particular, I would like to mention the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Murtha), who each year funds breast cancer research in the DOD 
budget to well over $175 million.
  Over the past 20 years thanks in large part to this government-funded 
research, there has been an explosion in what we know about and how to 
prevent and treat a disease that is expected to strike over 192,000 
American women in 2001.
  Breast cancer mortality rates have fallen every year since 1989. We 
now have a drug that can decrease the chance of developing breast 
cancer by 50 percent if we detect problems early; and research on new 
detection and treatment methods is moving forward faster than ever 
before. Gene expression will isolate the genes that will trigger breast 
cancer allowing for customized, more effective treatment. Biologically 
targeted therapies will identify and target proteins and other agents 
that make cancer cells grow without affecting healthy cells.
  Thirty different targeted therapies are now in clinical trials and 
some are expected to receive FDA approval within 1 or 2 years.
  Angiogenesis inhibitors which target blood vessels that contribute to 
tumor development are also in the final stages of clinical trials. 
Finally, several different vaccines are in clinical trials, and it is 
realistic that we will see a breast cancer vaccine in the near future 
for a disease that strikes one in eight American women during their 
lifetime. The notion of a vaccine was unthinkable a decade ago. So we 
are learning more and more about breast cancer all the time, but we 
have always known that prevention is the best way to treat breast 
cancer.
  An exciting detection method which could supplement mammograms is in 
the works. Ductal lavage spots unusual changes in cells lining the milk 
ducts which are the source of most breast cancers. This promises to be 
a highly effective method for assessing a woman's risk for developing 
cancer which will give her a vital head start on prevention and 
treatment planning.
  Until additional methods are finalized, women are still best served 
by monthly breast exams, bi-annual gynecological exams, and annual 
mammograms. These preventative steps save lives. Mammograms must 
continue to be a major focus of our legislative action on breast 
cancer.
  There are two pieces of legislation before Congress that will go a 
long way towards minimizing the fatality rates of the most common form 
of cancer in women. In May, Senator Feinstein and I, along with the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly) introduced H.R. 1809, the Cancer 
Screening Coverage Act, that ensures that Americans will be covered for 
breast, prostate, and cervical screening. It would require Federal and 
private health plans to inform members about and provide coverage for 
cancer screening. Mammograms and clinical breast examinations would be 
expressly covered under this bill.
  In the 105th Congress, along with the woman's caucus and support from 
many of my colleagues, I was successful in getting enacted the Breast 
Cancer Early Detection Act of 1997 which provides for coverage of an 
annual screening mammogram under part B of the Medicare program for 
women age 65 and older.
  To ensure the continuation of this successful program, which has 
saved countless lives, we need to update the Medicare payment rate so 
that mammography centers can stay open. In my city of New York, 
screening centers have had to close because they could not afford to 
stay open. They were losing too much money. The reimbursement rates 
were too low. We must increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for both 
diagnostic and screening mammography, and that is what the Assure 
Access to Mammography Act of 2001 will do, which the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. King) has introduced and which I am cosponsoring with him.
  We must renew our commitment to providing this life-saving 
technology. The inclusion of mammography coverage by Medicare was a 
hard-won landmark provision that must be preserved. HHS' center for 
Medicare and Medicaid have recently proposed cuts in funding for 
diagnostic mammograms, mammograms for women who have been diagnosed 
with or are fighting cancer, breast cancer.
  Any proposal to cut back treatment for women who need it most is 
unconscionable and must not stand. We must maintain the Medicare 
reimbursement rates. This is especially important since Medicare serves 
as a benchmark for private health plans. What we cut in the public 
sector is likely to be mirrored in the private sector.
  Mr. Speaker, we have come so far in the fight against breast cancer, 
and this is no time to turn back. I thank the co-chairs of the Women's 
Caucus for arranging this special order, and I will continue working 
with them for breast cancer treatment funding research.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate all of the 
gentlewoman's hard work, many years of hard work. It is an inspiration 
to all of us.
  I would now like to yield to my colleague, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood).

[[Page H7292]]

  Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and 
I thank the Women's Caucus and all of the sponsors of this special 
order for taking the time.
  I wanted to just briefly reflect on what the advances that we have 
made in breast cancer have meant to our family. My older sister, Alice, 
has just been through all of this. She will kill me for saying she is 
older, but she is just a tad older than I am, I look older. She went 
through the screening. She learned she had a lump. She had the surgery. 
She had the chemo. She had the radiation, lost all of her hair but 
never lost her courage, never lost her character, never lost her love 
of life; and she has come through it remarkably well. So well that she 
is now pursuing an advanced degree and living as active and rich and 
full a life as ever she has.
  Had it not been for the money that we have sunk into research in so 
many ways, I do not think that my sister, Alice, would be with us at 
this time; and on behalf of her family and my family and our whole 
clan, I wanted to express our gratitude to researchers and the doctors 
and recommit myself to continuing to support whatever is necessary in 
terms of financial resources to continue that research so that not only 
may our family enjoy the blessings of a cure for breast cancer but 
millions of others may as well.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the gentleman coming 
this evening, and I think it is just another example of how breast 
cancer reaches all lives, males and females, every family; and I 
certainly wish the gentleman's sister the best.
  In order of appearance, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Mrs. Jones).
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the 
gentlewoman for yielding.
  I would like to thank the co-chair of the Women's Caucus, my good 
friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), for 
all the work that we do in the Women's Caucus. It is a difficult task 
leading a caucus, and I want to commend her on the work that we do as 
we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

  I dedicate my comments this evening to four living women who have 
survived breast cancer: Gwen Chapman, Bobbi Butts, Jacqui Royster, and 
Marion Brown, and to one who did not survive breast cancer, in memory 
of Debbie Smith.
  Let me tell my colleagues a little bit about Debbie Smith. She and I 
were assistant prosecutors together; and we shared an office. And the 
sign outside the office said Smith and Jones, and no one ever believed 
that it was the truth that our names were Smith and Jones. I dedicate 
my words this evening on behalf of all of these strong and dedicated 
women.
  I can only think of the great times I have had when we have done the 
Race for the Cure. It was a shame that this year unfortunately, as a 
result of the acts of September 11, that the Race for the Cure was 
cancelled in my city, the city of Cleveland. I was able for the past 3 
years to sponsor a group of young women called Teen Lift. I am a member 
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and part of the responsibility in 
being part of Teen Lift was to do a community awareness week or 
activity. And one of the activities was I used to pay the registration, 
give them T-shirts; and we would do the Race for the Cure each year.
  I also want to talk about the numerous groups in my city who are 
involved in breast cancer. There is one organization dedicated 
specifically to minority women, to bring the awareness about breast 
cancer to the attention of many, many people.
  I am also proud to be able to stand up and say that 2 weeks ago I had 
my mammogram. I had been messing around, not doing it, telling 
everybody get a mammogram, and I was not doing it myself. So I am very 
proud to be able to say that I took care of that a couple of weeks ago.
  Finally, I would like to also talk about one other issue as we are 
talking about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have legislation pending 
with regard to uterine fibroid cancer research, another illness that is 
prevalent among women, but particularly among minority women. It is the 
highest cause of hysterectomies among women across this country. We 
need to kick up the information to women about uterine fibroid research 
and the dilemma it causes women, so women will know about it and less 
women will have to have hysterectomies.
  Again, I am proud and happy that we have the opportunity to celebrate 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I will be even prouder at the point 
that we do not have to celebrate it because we will have found a cure.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield time to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. 
Millender-McDonald) for sponsoring tonight's hour; and Mr. Speaker, I 
am pleased to join my colleagues on the House floor this evening to 
recognize National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
  My name is Lynn and I am the daughter of Ginger, who died of breast 
cancer at the age of 62. Ginger is the daughter of Myrtle, who died of 
breast cancer at the age of 63. I have outlived them both, luckily. We 
are in a new time, a new life. I live a healthier existence than they 
did. I am much more careful, and certainly I have mammograms. Life is 
different now but families just like mine in succession continue to die 
of breast cancer.
  In 1995 the Northern California Cancer Center announced that women 
living in Marin County, one of the two counties that I am very 
privileged to represent, have a one in five lifetime risk of developing 
breast cancer.

                              {time}  1830

  That is the highest in the Nation. This is one of the most affluent 
areas in the country. So we cannot assume breast cancer is in poor 
areas. Breast cancer is in every area.
  This alarming statistic prompted the formation of the Marin Breast 
Cancer Watch. This group has been an incredible resource for women and 
their families in my district as they cope with the realities of our 
high breast cancer rate. Sadly, though, last spring, the founder of 
Marin Breast Cancer Watch, Francine Levien, lost her battle to breast 
cancer. Francine's activism, dedication and friendship brightened the 
lives of many, many women. While Francine has left us, her spirit and 
determination have not. It is because of all the Francines across this 
country that today we share their message and we recognize the hard 
work that must happen if we are to actually find a cure for this awful 
disease.
  As in Marin County, an alarming number of women are dying from breast 
cancer across the Nation every year. Equally alarming is that we do not 
know exactly why. As the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer 
quickly rises, it is imperative that we learn what causes this disease 
and we take decisive action so that we can prevent it. Only by 
understanding where, how and why breast cancer occurs can we develop 
effective strategies to eradicate it.
  We all know that this will take funding beyond what we have already 
committed, but we cannot rest until the one in seven national statistic 
is a thing of the past. A growing body of evidence suggests that 
exposure to toxic chemicals may accelerate the spread of breast cancer. 
Some suggest this may contribute to the disproportionately high 
occurrence of breast cancer among women in regions like the San 
Francisco Bay area. Marin Breast Cancer Watch has led education 
campaigns within our community in an effort to increase awareness of 
the relationship between breast cancer and the exposure to outside 
factors, like toxic chemicals. Because information is power, I have 
worked hard with appropriators to secure funding over the past several 
years to help study and document this link.
  Mr. Speaker, only by exploring every single angle, especially 
environmental risk factors, will we be able to conquer breast cancer. 
As we search for the cause and the cure, we must also strengthen our 
commitment to treatment options and increase access to cancer care, 
prevention, and awareness programs. The media often reports conflicting 
stories about what are appropriate and safe treatment options. However, 
breast cancer patients have a right to make up their own minds on

[[Page H7293]]

the type of treatment that they want. We must give them the tools they 
need to make informed choices about their health care options.
  Women are looking for hope, for progress, for answers. Breast cancer 
is beyond scary. Let us not make it more frightening by keeping women 
in the dark about each and every treatment option that is available to 
them. That is why I urge this Congress to truly support women's health 
coverage by calling for a vote on important legislation like the Breast 
Cancer Patient Protection Act and the Mammogram Availability Act.
  Mr. Speaker, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, coworkers, friends, 
our nieces are looking to this Congress to lead the fight against the 
greatest battle they may ever face.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, quickly, because I know we are running out 
of time, I want to yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas 
(Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me thank the gentlewoman for her 
leadership, but let me spend a moment thanking the co-chair of the 
Women's Caucus, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-
McDonald), for her vision. She has constantly led us with an enormous 
vision to be able to reach out and speak on behalf of women who cannot 
speak for themselves, and I thank her very much.
  In this time, Mr. Speaker, let me indicate this could not be a more 
important topic for us to honor, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and 
clearly I want to express my appreciation and give tribute to the 
Sisters Network, an organization founded in my community, but as well a 
national organization that deals and emphasizes the need to provide 
information to African American women who have breast cancer.
  Clearly, breast cancer is deadly. The cause and cures are still 
unknown, but there is hope. Today, during Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month, I am here to say that prevention is the key against breast 
cancer. During 2001, an estimated 192,000 new cases of breast cancer 
are expected to occur among women in the United States. It can happen 
to any woman, including me or my daughter.
  From 1995 to 1998, death from breast cancer fell 3.4 percent. 
However, the number of new breast cancer cases rose 1.2 percent per 
year from 1992 to 1998. It all involves the history of one's family. 
Mammography and early detection have helped to raise incidence rates, 
but we need to do more.
  A new study in the July 18 issue of the Journal of the National 
Cancer Institute finds that an imaging technology called MRI, or 
magnetic resonance imaging, may be more effective than a mammogram in 
detecting breast cancer. In this new study, a group of 179 women with a 
strong family history of cancer underwent a mammogram and an MRI. The 
MRI detected 13 cancers, seven of which had not been detected on 
mammography. So I would simply argue that we have a lot of work to do. 
We clearly have come a long way, but I believe the imaging process is 
something that we need to utilize in order to ensure that we save more 
lives.
  I am wearing a pink ribbon today, and I wear it simply to say to all 
the women who may be listening, to my colleagues who have come to the 
floor, that our simple message is that we want to save lives. The more 
we can give information to those women, the more we can implore the 
survivors who I meet every single day, those women who have fought and 
have survived breast cancer that are now out there telling their 
sisters that they can save a life by getting an early examination, 
making sure to get regular examinations, and making sure to respond to 
what their doctors say, the more likely we are to win this battle.
  We can win this battle by information and sisterhood, and I believe 
today we have shown that.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, breast cancer is hard to 
ignore and has touched the lives of millions of American women and 
their family and friends. Every three minutes a woman in the United 
states learns she has breast cancer. It is the most common form of 
cancer among American women--next to skin cancers, and is second only 
to lung cancer in cancer deaths in women. Almost everyone knows at 
least one person who has been treated for it.
  Women with a strong family history of breast cancer need frequent, 
careful monitoring to detect early signs of breast cancer. New drugs, 
new treatment regiments, and better diagnostic techniques have improved 
the outlook for many, and are responsible for breast cancer death rates 
going down.
  Mammography has traditionally played a significant role in detecting 
breast cancer, but better technology is now available.
  MRI can better penetrate the breast tissue to find tiny 
abnormalities, many of which are in the very early stages. MRI can also 
clarify a questionable mammogram.
  Another study by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American 
College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) involving 49,500 women in 
the United States and Canada, compares digital mammography to standard 
film mammography to determine how this new technique compares to the 
traditional method of screening for breast cancer. Digital mammography 
has the potential to provide better detection of early breast cancer.
  Digital mammography uses computers and specially designed detectors 
to produce a digital image of the breast that can be displayed on high-
resolution monitors. One possible advantage of digital mammography, she 
said, is that it may be more effective in detecting cancers in women 
with dense breasts because it has improved contrast resolution.
  Although the equipment for digital costs more than film mammography, 
there may be fewer callbacks or additional office visits with the new 
technique and this would save money as well as lessen patients' 
concerns.
  Other techniques for detecting breast cancer are a clinical breast 
exam, an ultrasound, and CT scanning.
  Most professional medical organizations recommend that a woman have 
periodic breast exams by a doctor or nurse along with getting regular 
screening mammograms. A breast exam by a doctor or nurse can find some 
cancers missed by mammography, even very small ones. Currently, 
mammography and breast exams by the doctor or nurse are the most common 
and useful techniques for finding breast cancer early.
  Ultrasound works by sending high-frequency sound waves into the 
breast. Ultrasound, which is painless and harmless, can distinguish 
between tumors that are solid and cysts, which are filled with fluid.
  CT scanning uses a computer to organize information from multiple x-
ray, cross-sectional views of a body's organ or area. CT can separate 
overlapping structures precisely and is sometimes helpful in locating 
breast abnormalities that are difficult to pinpoint with mammography or 
ultrasound.
   Mr. Speaker, early detection is the key to preventing breast cancer. 
While death rates from breast cancer are falling, and while there are a 
number of exciting new strategies being developed, a lot more still 
needs to be done. We need to consider new technology, as well as 
reinforce traditional detection techniques, as part of our commitment 
to beating this deadly disease.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleagues for joining 
me, and especially thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Millender-McDonald) for her leadership.
  I would like to say briefly that everyone's passion is personal. My 
personal passion is the mother-in-law I never had, who died from breast 
cancer at a very early age. My children never met their grandmother or 
their great grandmother or their aunt. So we have to find a cure for 
this horrible disease.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
from West Virginia for her leadership as well. She is one of our new 
Members and she has done extraordinarily well tonight on the floor, and 
I wish to thank her.
  Ms. WATSON of California. Mr. Speaker, Breast Cancer is at an 
epidemic level and will affect more than 100,000 women in the next five 
years. I have followed the development of information on this issue and 
I have carried legislation providing screenings, testing, mammograms 
and treatment for women, particularly poor women. I have found that 
women of color are less informed and are likely to receive treatment 
too late. As a result, when cancer is detected, it is often too late!
  We need to provide free Breast Cancer screenings, mammograms, 
adequate treatment and posthesis for poor and underprivileged women. I 
firmly believe that outreach programs are necessary to disseminate 
important information and are essential in protecting the lives of our 
loved ones!
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform our constituents, men 
and women, that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 
Since the early 1970s, the incidence of breast cancer has increased 1.5 
percent per year and has only recently shown signs of leveling off. An 
estimated 192,200 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to 
occur among women in the United States this year.

[[Page H7294]]

And an estimated 40,200 women will die from breast cancer. In fact, 
Rockland County in my Congressional District was recently determined to 
have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the entire Nation. This 
is a distinction I would prefer that my district did not have.
  The most important message we can send to the women of our Nation is 
that early detection is key to beating breast cancer. Early detection 
increases one's chances of survival and there are a number of ways to 
screen for breast cancer. Women aged 20 and older should perform 
monthly breast self-examinations, women aged 20-40 should have clinical 
breast exams done at least every 3 years and women over 40 should have 
clinical breast exams and mammograms performed annually.
  Breast cancer in men is rare, but it does happen. In 2001, it is 
estimated that 1,500 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 400 
will die from it. The survival rate of men and women is comparable by 
stage of disease at the time of diagnosis. However, men are usually 
diagnosed at a later stage, because they are less likely to report any 
symptoms. Treatment of breast cancer is the same as treatment for women 
patients and usually includes a combination of surgery, radiation, 
chemotherapy, and/or hormone therapy.
  The causes of breast cancer are not fully known. However, health and 
medical researchers have identified a number of factors that increase a 
woman's chances of getting breast cancer. Risk factors are not 
necessarily causes of breast cancer, but are associated with an 
increased risk of getting breast cancer. Importantly, some women have 
many risk factors but never get breast cancer, and some women have few 
or no risk factors but do get the disease. Being a woman is the number 
one risk factor for breast cancer. For this reason, it is important to 
perform regular breast self-exams, have clinical breast exams, and have 
routine mammograms in order to detect any problems at an early stage.
  While many risk factors such as getting older, having a mother, 
daughter, or sister who has had breast cancer, having the mutated 
breast cancer genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 or having had breast cancer are not 
controllable, many factors are. These include: having more than one 
drink of alcohol per day, taking birth control pills for 5 years or 
longer, not getting regular exercise, currently or recently using some 
forms of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for 10 years or longer, 
being overweight or gaining weight as an adult or being exposed to 
large amounts of radiation.
  Bear in mind, that even if you feel perfectly healthy now, just being 
a woman and getting older puts you at risk for breast cancer. However, 
getting checked regularly can put your mind at ease. And finding cancer 
early could save your life. That's why National Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month is a significant endeavor.

                          ____________________