FIGHTING BREAST CANCER

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This special designation draws attention to the approximately 182,800 new cases of breast cancer that will be diagnosed this year. More than 40,000 women will die of the disease, but many survive due to prompt detection and effective new treatments. Some of these deaths could be avoided by making sure that cancer detection and treatment services are readily available to all women at risk. Early detection is currently the best way to combat breast cancer. If women age 50 and older obtain regular screening for breast cancer (some health advocates recommend that screening start at age 40), up to 30 percent of breast cancer deaths could be prevented. In recognition of the value of screening and early detection, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990. It established the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Early Detection Program. This important program has provided more than two million screening tests to low-income and underserved women in all 50 states since its inception, and more than 6,000 cases of breast cancer and 500 cases of invasive cervical cancer have been diagnosed. As one Maine woman observed: "This screening program was an answered prayer. I had been concerned about having to skip checkups lately, but there was no way to come up with the money anytime soon. I will gladly tell all of my friends about this and will gladly return for follow-up."

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has provided cancer screening services to more than one million low-income American women, who like the woman from Maine, otherwise might not have been able to have these critically important tests. Despite the advances made in research, funding, and screening, this is just the beginning. I am pleased that legislation I cosponsored, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, was signed into law and will strengthen the early detection program. This bill gives states the option of providing treatment through the Medicaid program for women diagnosed under the CDC's breast and cervical cancer treatment program. Medicaid coverage would continue while these women undergo treatment and complete any follow-up visits. I joined my colleagues in the Maine delegation in sending a letter to Governor King, urging him to develop a plan to allow our state to take advantage of this new option. Doing so would ensure that more of our women have access to this lifesaving treatment. I am also a cosponsor of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Health Research Act, which authorizes $30 million over the next five years to "Centers of Excellence" to study the environmental factors that may be related to breast cancer. It is generally believed that the environment plays some role in the development of breast cancer, but the extent of that role is not understood. This legislation will enable us to conduct more comprehensive and focused research to determine the impact of the environment on breast cancer. In addition, I have joined Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) in introducing the National Cancer Act of 2002, which sets out a comprehensive national plan to combat cancer. The legislation calls for a 15-percent increase in the National Cancer Institute's budget next year and authorizes 10 percent annual increases thereafter. The legislation also includes important provisions to increase access to cancer screening, clinical trials, cancer drugs, and high-quality cancer care. Cancer has taken a tremendous toll on too many American families. Breast cancer is everyone's fight. Early detection is key to saving lives and keeping many families in intact.