[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, October 1 is the beginning of Breast 
Cancer Awareness Month. This is a moment to reflect on the great work 
done by scientists, physicians and nurses, patients, survivors, and 
their families every day to detect, treat, prevent and--one day--cure 
breast cancer. It is a time to recall the personal losses of so many 
family members and friends. And it is an occasion to measure the 
important progress made against breast cancer and the improvement in 
the chances of survival and in the quality of life for women and men 
with breast cancer.
   But, for the more than 200,000 American women diagnosed with breast 
cancer this year, and the 40,000 who will die from breast cancer, it is 
also time for us to renew our commitment in this struggle, to reaffirm 
that we will complete this work, meet unmet needs, and once and for all 
end the risk of breast cancer to our families and our children.
   This is a struggle that we willingly take on for our families, and 
for families around the world, where a woman dies from breast cancer 
every minute of every hour of every day. This year, 1.3 million women 
worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and of them a half 
million will die from breast cancer. As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month in the United States, we do so as members of a global community 
facing a common health threat.
   This year brings other important commemorative milestones in the 
fight against breast cancer. I learned recently that this year is the 
thirtieth anniversary of Nancy Brinker's promise to her sister, Susan 
G. Komen, to pursue a cure for breast cancer--a promise that helped 
spark vital patient advocacy worldwide in the race for a cure.
   This is the twentieth anniversary of the National Breast and 
Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), administered by the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 1990, Congress 
stepped in to give women access to early cancer detection. By passing 
this law, we sent the message that no woman should have to forgo life-
saving tests because she can't afford them. More than 3 million 
American women have benefitted from this program.
   This is also the tenth anniversary of the National Breast and 
Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, which expanded Medicaid 
coverage for American women diagnosed through the screening and early 
detection services supported by NBCCEDP. Today, this coverage is 
available in all fifty States.
   Last year, in passing comprehensive health care reform, we built on 
these early achievements by expanding health coverage and making 
preventive health care more accessible for all Americans. We did this 
because uninsured cancer patients are 60 percent more likely to die 
than privately insured patients within five years of diagnosis. We did 
this because of the tens of millions of uninsured Americans who deserve 
screening, treatment and care--but do not receive them today.
   We have important work that remains to be done. Only a fraction of 
the American women eligible to receive preventive health services under 
NBCCEDP do so. There are waiting lists at clinics, which mean women 
whose cancers could have been caught early and treated instead find out 
when their disease has progressed and spread. There are new screening 
technologies to be developed, new treatments and hopefully cures that 
await discovery.
   Madam Speaker, I hope that every American family takes a moment 
during October to reflect on the progress we've made against breast 
cancer and to commit to taking steps to protect their health or to 
contribute in some way to creating and achieving a world without breast 
cancer.

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