[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 133 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11555-S11556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Mr. REID. Mr. President, as we pause to observe Breast Cancer
Awareness Month, I would like to focus on the need to study the causes
of this frightening disease, including the possible link between breast
cancer and the environment.
Women diagnosed with breast cancer inevitably all ask the same
question: Why me?
The unfortunate truth in all too many instances is, we don't know.
Less than 30 percent of breast cancers are explained by known risk
factors.
We don't know if the environment plays a role in the development of
breast cancer. Studies have explored the effect of isolated
environmental factors such as diet, pesticides, and even
electromagnetic fields. In most cases, the results have been
inconclusive. Furthermore, there are many other factors that are
suspected to play a role that have yet to be studied.
We must find answers. While there is much we don't know, it is clear
that a better understanding of the role the environment plays in the
development of breast cancer could help to improve our understanding of
the causes of breast cancer and could lead to prevention strategies.
For several years now, I have worked to pass bipartisan legislation,
The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, which would give
scientists the tools they need to better understand any link between
breast cancer and the environment. The Breast Cancer and Environmental
Research Act would dedicate $30 million a year for 5 years for the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, to award
grants to study the relationship between environmental factors and
breast cancer. Under a competitive, peer-reviewed grant-making process
that involves patient advocates, the NIEHS Director would award grants
for the development and operation of up to eight centers for the
purpose of conducting multi-disciplinary research.
To date, there has been only a limited research investment to study
the role of the environment in the development of breast cancer--but we
are making progress. Over the past several years, I have worked with my
colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to include
appropriations language that has allowed the NIEHS to award grants to
four research centers to begin to study the prenatal-to-adult
environmental exposures that may predispose a woman to breast cancer.
This is a promising step in the right direction, but it is only a
down payment on the task at hand. Moreover, the research strategy for
these grants does not follow the nationally focused, collaborative, and
comprehensive model as outlined in the Breast Cancer and Environmental
Research Act.
More research must be done to determine the impact of the environment
on breast cancer. If we miss promising research opportunities because
Congress has failed to act, millions of women and their families will
face difficult questions about breast cancer . . . and we won't have
the answers.
These women and their families deserve answers. That's why we must
work together to pass this bill, which enjoys broad bipartisan support.
I urge my colleagues to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to
support the quest for answers about this deadly disease by supporting
the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act.
Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I rise today in observance of National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today, 3 million American women are
living with this disease. In 2005, an additional 200,000 women are
expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and over 40,000
will die from this disease. While in recent years we have seen
significant advances in breast cancer research, scientists are still
researching many questions that remain unanswered regarding the causes
and prevention of this disease.
I am particularly concerned about the likely impact that
environmental factors have in contributing to the prevalence of breast
cancer. That is why I support the bipartisan Breast Cancer
Environmental Research Act, S. 757, which would provide $30 million a
year for 5 years for the development and operation of multi-
institutional, multi-disciplinary research centers to study
environmental factors potentially linked to breast cancer. There is a
clear need for research. We owe it to breast cancer survivors and
victims to pass this legislation.
Over the past several years, New Jersey has consistently ranked in
the top 10 states in the Nation for breast cancer incidence and
mortality. That is why I feel especially strongly about supporting
further progress and future advancements in the fight against this
awful disease that will only continue to cause suffering among American
women if we fail to act.
In addition to passing S. 757, we must also increase funding for the
National Institutes of Health, NIH, the National Cancer Institute, NCI,
and the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, all of which have played a
major role in the development of improved treatment. Despite the
critical role these agencies play in developing tools to fight and
prevent cancer, the President and Republican-led Congress have
significantly underfunded breast cancer initiatives at NIH, NCI, and
CDC. We need to do more.
[[Page S11556]]
We need a collaborative, comprehensive, national strategy to study
the etiology of breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Environmental Research
Act would accomplish this. I urge all of my colleagues to observe
National Breast Cancer Awareness month by supporting this critical
piece of legislation.
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