[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 6 (Monday, February 14, 2000)]
[Pages 233-234]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

February 5, 2000

    Good morning. Today I want to talk about what we can and must do to 
help more women get the lifesaving treatment they need to fight breast 
and cervical cancer. More than 180,000 American women will be diagnosed 
with these diseases this year. Each of us has a sister, a daughter, a 
friend, or in my case, a mother, who has struggled against them.
    These cancers can be treated and cured--if we catch them early and 
fight them aggressively. But more than 40,000 women will die from breast 
and cervical cancer this year. Many are women whose cancer was detected 
or treated too late because they had no health insurance and no hope of 
paying for
treatment.
    In fact, older women with breast cancer are 40 percent more likely 
to die from the disease if they're uninsured. With strong leadership 
from the First Lady, we've worked hard over the past 7 years to increase 
free and low-cost cancer screenings and to help women catch these 
diseases in time.
    We've expanded the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early 
Detection Program to serve hundreds of thousands of women a year in all 
50 States. And Vice President Gore has

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led us to make a dramatic increase in our commitment to cancer research 
and treatment. But still, it's true that every year, thousands of women 
are told they have cancer and must cope without insurance.
    This is especially troubling, given the stunning progress scientists 
are making in the fight against cancer. Researchers now can identify 
genes that predict several kinds of cancers. They're experimenting with 
therapies that will shut down defective genes so they can never multiply 
and grow. New drugs and new combinations of drugs will bring hope to 
those whose cancer has spread, or who suffer from the side effects of 
chemotherapy.
    These breakthroughs will make a big difference for some of our most 
prevalent cancers, like breast cancer, which strikes one in eight 
American women over a lifetime. But these lifesaving new therapies can 
only help if patients have insurance or other resources that enable them 
to afford state-of-the-art treatment or any treatment at all.
    At a time when we know more about cancer than ever and can fight it 
better than ever, we must not leave women to face cancer alone. That's 
why today I'm announcing a proposal to help States eliminate the 
barriers low income women face to getting treatment for breast or 
cervical cancer. The budget I'm sending to Congress on Monday will allow 
States to provide full Medicaid benefits to uninsured women whose 
cancers are detected through federally funded screening programs. Too 
often, uninsured women face a patchwork of care, inadequate care, or no 
care at all. Many are denied newer, better forms of treatment or wait 
months to see a doctor.
    Judy Lewis was one of the lucky ones. When a screening program 
detected her breast cancer, she had no health insurance and no money to 
spare. Fortunately, she found doctors who would treat her. And 17 months 
later, she's cancer-free. But she and her husband are also $28,000 in 
debt, with nothing left for their retirement. That is wrong, and it 
doesn't have to happen.
    This initiative will help women get comprehensive treatment, and get 
it right away. It will make state-of-the-art therapies available to 
women who need them, not just those who can afford them. And it will 
free State and Federal dollars to be spent on cancer screening and 
outreach to women at risk.
    This proposal has strong bipartisan support in Congress, led by 
Senators Barbara
Mikulski and Olympia Snowe and Representatives Anna Eshoo and Rick 
Lazio. It was also strongly supported by the late Senator John Chafee of 
Rhode Island.
    These Senators and Representatives from both parties have put 
forward legislation to meet our goal, and my budget includes the funds 
to make it happen. This is an issue that transcends political 
boundaries, because it touches all of us. Together, we can save lives 
and bring medical miracles of our time within the reach of every 
American. We can do it this year, and we ought to do it soon.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:43 p.m. on February 4 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 5. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
February 4 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.