[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H6096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2220
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
(Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ asked and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we approach
October to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The statistics are sobering: one in eight women will get breast
cancer in her lifetime.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 41, I quickly
understood the importance of knowing your risk for breast cancer. I
learned that, as an Ashkenazi Jewish woman, my chances of having the
BRCA mutation linked to breast cancer were significantly higher.
That is why in 2009 I introduced the EARLY Act, which equips young
women with the tools they need to make informed decisions about their
breast health. Though we have made significant advances on some fronts,
there is still work to be done. For example, there has been no
statistically significant improvement in survival rates for the
metastatic cancer community in the past 20 years.
We must do more to support those who are affected by this deadly
disease and do everything we can to eradicate breast cancer once and
for all.
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