[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12278]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              BREAST CANCER AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM MATHESON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support for H.R. 
1157, the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. What finer 
tribute to our wives and mothers could we pay during this week before 
Mother's Day than to join as cosponsors of this important bill.
  This legislation would invest in the research we need to discover the 
potential links between breast cancer and environmental factors. It is 
research that could someday lead to a cure.
  Over 1,000 Utahns will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year; of 
those, 200 will probably die from the disease. Even though Utah has a 
lower incidence rate compared to other States, it's tragic that a woman 
in our country has a 1 in 7 chance of developing invasive breast cancer 
during her lifetime. That is a much greater risk than in 1975, when it 
was 1 in 11. We know that breast cancer remains the second-leading 
cause of cancer death among women. I am committed--as I know you are--
to finding answers to the questions about possible links between this 
life-threatening disease and environmental factors.
  We know we are making progress against breast cancer, but we don't 
yet know enough about what causes it, or how to prevent it.
  Let's make this 2007 Mother's Day the time we step up our investment 
into the critical search for answers. A bipartisan group of 144 of our 
colleagues has already cosponsored H.R. 1157. I urge everyone to join 
that group.
  I hope that this Congress will act on the Breast Cancer and 
Environmental Research Act. I believe it's an important piece of the 
puzzle as we continue the fight to defeat this potential threat to the 
health and well-being of mothers everywhere.

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