[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DEANNA JENSEN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Deanna Jensen, a 
lifelong Nevadan whose commitment to breast cancer advocacy will always 
be remembered. After her own long but heroic battle against breast 
cancer, she passed away on January 7. My thoughts and prayers are with 
Deanna's husband Don and her family as they mourn this great loss.
  As a loving wife and mother, cherished friend, and respected member 
of the community, Deanna touched many lives near and far. And my home 
State of Nevada was fortunate to have her from the beginning. Born in 
Elko and raised in Clover Valley on a cattle ranch, she graduated from 
Wells High School and eventually earned a master's degree in speech 
pathology-audiology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Deanna remained 
in Nevada, devoting herself to a career as a speech pathologist and 
working by her husband's side at his business, Jensen Precast.
  When breast cancer finally struck, Deanna fought back and became a 
cancer survivor. In fact, before her recurrent metastatic breast cancer 
had returned for the final time, she had been cancer free for 5 years. 
In that time, Deanna had become a tireless activist for the cause of 
advancing breast cancer research. With a determination and persistence 
that would not surprise her loved ones, she sought to translate her 
private struggles with this terrible disease into civic action for the 
greater good. It was clear to everyone that she cared deeply about the 
issue. ``Why me?'' was a question Deanna surely wondered about herself, 
but she wanted answers for all women who asked that question.
  The search for those answers is a driving force behind the Breast 
Cancer and Environmental Research Act, bipartisan legislation that 
Deanna sought to see enacted. While the devastating effects of breast 
cancer are all too evident, its causes are still mostly unknown. We do 
know that a better understanding of the links between the environment 
and breast cancer could help improve our knowledge of this complex 
illness. The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act is designed 
to reveal those links by making a truly meaningful research investment 
and charting a national research strategy.
  In Deanna's words, that is why passing the Breast Cancer and 
Environmental Research Act is a real opportunity for Congress to ``step 
up for women and breast cancer.'' Recognizing this call to action, 66 
of my Senate colleagues and 262 members of the House of Representatives 
joined me in the 109th Congress in supporting the legislation. I hope 
that the new session of Congress will give us another opportunity to 
make good on our promise to finally pass the bill.
  In one of my last correspondences with Deanna, she wrote of her 
frustration that a bill with so much support had yet to be enacted by 
Congress. It was a fitting reminder of the way Deanna was mindful of 
the public sphere beyond her own immediate situation, even as she dealt 
with a grueling regimen of radiation and chemotherapy in her final 
moments. Her inner strength could not be extinguished then, nor will 
her contributions be forgotten now. She will be greatly missed.

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