[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

 THE 4TH ANNUAL NATIONAL BREAST CANCER CONFERENCE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN 
                                 WOMEN

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, during the weekend of April 19, 
2002, as we commemorate Cancer Awareness Month, hundreds of women from 
around the country will gather in my home town, Detroit, MI, to 
celebrate breast cancer survivorship among African American women. This 
is a very special group of women, in that they are all survivors of the 
most common type of cancer of women in the United States. I take great 
pleasure in welcoming them to Detroit and want to bring to your 
attention, the many accomplishments of the sponsoring organizations and 
the goals of this conference.
  The 4th Annual National Breast Cancer Conference, which is sponsored 
by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit's nationally renowned cancer 
treatment center and breast care center, and Sisters' Network, Inc. 
presents an aggressive agenda focusing on the survivorship of African 
American Women who have, and who will encounter the challenge of breast 
cancer, a disease which has claimed far too many lives of the members 
of any community, but within the African American community, 28 percent 
more than other ethnic groups. According to a recent report appearing 
in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers said that 
studies have shown that black women are more likely to be diagnosed 
with late stage breast cancer and to have a shorter survival time than 
white women. We should all find these statistics unacceptable. During 
this conference, with the guidance of medical professionals from around 
the country, including Detroit's own Dr. Lisa Newman, Associate 
Director of the Waltz Comprehensive Breast Center, there will be 
discussions on how to eradicate all of those barriers women of the 
African American community face when assaulted by this dreaded disease.
  I am proud to acknowledge the work and dedication of Cassandra Woods, 
my Michigan Chief of Staff, who is the president of the Greater 
Metropolitan Detroit Chapter of Sisters' Network, Inc, and a breast 
cancer survivor and the national president and founder of the Network, 
Ms. Karen Jackson. These women and the members of the 37 chapters from 
around the country are committed to increasing local and national 
attention to the devastation that breast cancer has in the African 
American community. These women believe that through education, 
advocacy, research, and support for each other, they can make a marked 
difference in breast cancer outcomes and the rate of survival among 
their sisters.
  I applaud this effort, I support this effort, and I ask my colleagues 
to join me in wishing the best of outcomes for this conference and with 
the challenges ahead.

                          ____________________