[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16071-16072]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor October as 
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
  For nearly 30 years, the month of October has brought a sea of pink 
ribbons to our shopping centers, sports games and lapels as we 
commemorate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each ribbon 
symbolizes our Nation's renewed commitment to fighting this deadly 
disease, from promoting breast cancer awareness, sharing information 
about breast health, providing greater access to screening services, 
and ultimately finding a cure.
  Our mothers, sisters, daughters, spouses, family and friends dress in 
pink to demonstrate support for women through awareness, education, and 
empowerment. And though we love the color, we know that October is 
about so much more than walkathons and accessories.
  I'm one of 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in this 
country. Just weeks after a clean mammogram myself and my 41st 
birthday, I felt a lump in my breast. As a young and otherwise healthy 
mother of three, I heard the words that all women hope they never hear: 
you have breast cancer.
  Getting that news felt like an anvil crashing down on me.
  With an early diagnosis and confirmation of a hereditary form of the 
disease, I underwent seven major surgeries, but not radiation or 
chemotherapy, to ensure that my cancer would not return. But that fear 
is never truly abated. Once you have had cancer, you always know it 
could come back.
  As a breast cancer survivor, I understand intimately how important it 
is that women have every possible cancer-fighting tool at their 
disposal. Our Nation has been a leader in discovering innovative 
methods of detection and treatment. A cancer diagnosis is no longer the 
death sentence it once was, and the statistics are only getting better.
  But our health care system is still rife with disparities, 
particularly when it comes to information and access that prevent these 
advances from reaching everyone. Here in the United States, more than 
200,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone.
  Around the world, that number skyrockets to an unbelievable 1.6 
million

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new breast cancer cases annually. Tragically, almost half a million of 
these breast cancer patients will die.
  That means every 74 seconds a woman somewhere in the world dies of 
breast cancer. These are our mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, 
sisters and friends, women we all have known, loved, and lost.
  Mortality from breast cancer has been steadily decreasing over the 
last 25 years in North America and throughout Europe. Much of this 
progress is attributed to the widespread use of mammography and other 
early detection techniques and improvements in treatments.
  We know that leaps in research and treatment have led to increased 
survival and that early detection has the power to save lives. But we 
must make sure that that is the norm in communities all over the world 
and not only the privilege of the fortunate few.
  Cost and geography should never place a limit on your ability to get 
screened, and knowledge should never be a health disparity. For all the 
progress that we've made over the last 25 years, we must work together 
to ensure that we beat this disease for good over the next 25 years.
  Looking to the future, I'm committed to finding those areas of breast 
cancer treatment and breast health awareness that still have a long way 
to go and working on legislative solutions to fill those voids. Women 
in their 20s, 30s, and 40s have a completely different experience when 
it comes to breast cancer than women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s; and it 
is vital that we recognize and honor those differences.
  For young women, we in Congress must work to help preserve fertility 
that often suffers as a result of cancer treatment. It's difficult 
enough to be told that you have cancer at a young age, but there's no 
reason that treating the disease should prevent young women from having 
children down the road. For older women, we should be working to ensure 
coverage for prophylactic surgery or appropriate treatment options.
  Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover many of these services, 
leaving older women with difficult choices in their treatment options. 
We've made progress, but there is certainly a long way to go; and I 
look forward to making that progress together.
  We know that early detection improves your chance for diagnosis, 
treatment, and survival. Yet there are so many women who still face 
barriers to treatment and access to care.
  The biggest tragedy is that so many millions of women around the 
world will still lose their battle to breast cancer. We cannot forget 
their struggles, and we must continue our mission in honor of their 
memory. Working together, we must keep up our dedication and vigilance 
to help women know their risks, discover cancer early, access the best 
treatment possible, and work toward eliminating this disease.
  This October, there is more hope for survival as we increase access 
to early detection and affordable quality care. Let us commemorate 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a renewed dedication to support our 
mothers, sisters, our daughters and sister friends and eradicate breast 
cancer once and for all.

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