2010 Lobby Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Greater Amarillo Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure          

806.354.9706

Education@komenamarillo.org

Local Breast Cancer Survivors and Advocates Join Others from Across the Country to Call for Improved Access to Mammography; Screening Innovation

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocates Stress Importance of Early Detection

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 3, 2010 – Members of the Greater Amarillo Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure traveled to the nation’s capital April 29, joining nearly 200 Komen for the Cure advocates from across the country, to remind our nation’s leaders of the importance of early detection — and to challenge policy makers to invest in cancer research to bring about the next generation of screening technology.  While on Capitol Hill for the day, the Greater Amarillo delegation met with Congressmen Randy Neugebauer and Mac Thornberry and joined other delegations from across Texas to meet with Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

             “Regular cancer screening is a key to surviving breast cancer,” said Brandi Ruiz, Mission Coordinator. “Yet between budget cuts and recent controversial recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, women are getting the perception that screening isn’t important.  This week’s push on Capitol Hill will impress upon our elected leaders that all women need access to the breast cancer screening tools available today, and that we need to develop better screening tools for tomorrow.” 

             The Komen advocates stressed the importance of early detection, noting that later diagnoses leads to larger tumors, more advanced cancers and lower chances of survival.  In fact, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer when found early is 98 percent, but declines to 84 percent for regional disease and plummets to 23 percent when cancer has spread to other parts of the body.  About 80 to 90 percent of breast cancers found in women without symptoms in the U.S. will be detected by mammography.

 While the president did sign a new health reform law earlier this year that promises to improve access to health insurance, Komen advocates warned that we must continue to be concerned about improving access to potentially life-saving screenings, as one-third of women – some 23 million – are currently not receiving regular recommended screenings due to a lack of access to quality services, education or awareness.  While health reform will improve access, women will still need education and outreach to encourage them to use their new services. 

 Komen advocates urged Congress to maintain its commitment to vital safety-net programs like the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides education and outreach services in addition to screening that will continue to be needed after health reform is fully implemented.

 Noting that mammography, while the best screening tool currently available, is far from perfect, Komen advocates also press their representatives to support the quick development of new technologies and screening approaches that are more specific, more personalized and more accurate.

 Komen advocates also warned their representatives that they will be closely monitoring the implementation of the new health reform law to ensure the new patient protections it promises are actually are delivered to breast cancer patients and survivors. 

 “We do not see the passage of health reform as the end the discussion or as a time to relax,” said Ruiz.  “We will be watching and working to ensure that the reality of reform matches its promise.”

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About Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Komen Greater Amarillo Affiliate

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever, and in 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Greater Amarillo Affiliate is part of the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting breast cancer. Through events like the Komen Amarillo’s Race for the Cure, the Greater Amarillo Affiliate has invested over $1,000,000.00 in community breast cancer programs in the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle. Up to 75 percent of net proceeds generated by the Affiliate stay in the Panhandle. The remaining 25 percent funds national breast cancer research. For more information, call 806.354.9706 or visit KomenAmarillo.org.