[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


            IN RECOGNITION OF BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 12, 2013

  Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in recognition of Breast 
Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among 
women in the U.S. and also the most common cancer found among every 
ethnic and racial group in America. Thanks to continuous research 
efforts to improve breast cancer treatment, the mortality rate for this 
cancer is gradually declining.
  According to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization, in 2013, 
it is estimated that among U.S. women there will be 232,340 new cases 
of invasive breast cancer and 39,620 breast cancer deaths. It is also 
estimated that 27,060 new cases of breast cancer and 6,080 deaths are 
expected to occur among African American women.
  Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women 
and the second leading cause of cancer death among African American 
women exceeded only by lung cancer. Studies have found that African 
American women often have aggressive tumors with a poorer prognosis 
which leads to a higher mortality rate.
  Breast cancer incidence in African American women is lower than in 
White women overall. However, for women younger than 45, incidence is 
higher among African American women than White women. Breast cancer 
mortality is 41 percent higher in African American women than in White 
women. Although breast cancer survival in African American women has 
increased in recent decades, survival rates remain lower than among 
White women.
  Over the past 20 years, progress in both early detection and 
treatment has led to improved survival for people of all ages and 
races, and with all stages of breast cancer. Between 1990 and 2009, 
breast cancer mortality declined by 33 percent among women in the 
United States.
  According to the National Cancer Institute, between 2003 and 2009, 
89.2 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer survived 5 years or 
more after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Death rates have been 
falling on average 1.9 percent each year over the last 10 years and 
this is due to the advances in treatment.
  Though we have been successful in improving our treatment of Breast 
Cancer, we still must provide adequate research funding to find a cure 
for the disease. I therefore stand in honor of all breast cancer 
patients and survivors to urge my colleagues to support cancer research 
and ensure that the current and future breast cancer patients have an 
increased fighting chance for survival.




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