Recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Floor Speech

RECOGNIZING OCTOBER AS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 02, 2008)

SPEECH OF
HON. DANNY K. DAVIS
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008

* Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I wish to take a moment to recognize October as National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Excluding skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, accounting for more than 1 in 4 cancers diagnosed in women in the United States. Breast cancer incidence and death rates generally increase with age. White women have a higher incidence of breast cancer than African American women after the age of 40. In contrast, African American women have a higher incidence rate before the age of 40. Of great concern is the racial disparity that exists in terms of breast cancer outcomes. In the United States, African American women are 37 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than Caucasian women, with 5-year survival rates being 77 percent and 90 percent, respectively. This discrepancy is unacceptable.

* Health disparities related to breast cancer exist primarily due to poor early detection of the cancer and limited access to high-quality treatment. A lack of health insurance usually is linked with one having a more advanced stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis. The presence of supplementary illnesses, lower socioeconomic status, unequal access to medical care, and disparities in treatment may contribute to the observed differences in survival between lower and higher income breast cancer patients, specifically between African American and white women.

* Many institutions are taking the initiative to understand and address these disparities. I am proud that a hospital in my Congressional district has accepted this challenge. The Sinai Urban Health Institute is the largest private provider of charity care in the State of Illinois, and it has helped raise awareness and care for breast cancer. Sinai recently completed a comprehensive epidemiological analysis of breast cancer mortality for African American and Caucasian women in Chicago. Strikingly, the study found that black women in Chicago had a 68 percent higher mortality rate of breast cancer than Caucasian women. Further, the study demonstrated that Caucasian women in Chicago had benefited from the incredible advancements in treatment over the past 2 decades, but that these treatment successes had no impact on the mortality rate for African American women. This report prompted the local health community to discuss solutions to the growing disparities. The experts involved centered their recommendations on three things: improve access to mammograms, the quality of mammograms, and the quality of breast cancer treatment. To do its part, Sinai developed a program to increase the access of low-income women to mammograms. I am impressed that Sinai's efforts resulted in an amazing increase in the number of mammograms conducted at Sinai. Specifically, the number of mammograms increased 60 percent from 2004 to 2007.

* I also am pleased that this session I helped pass legislation to extend the authorization of the semipostal Breast Cancer Awareness stamp till 2011. Through the sale of this stamp, we are able to raise awareness of this disease and directly raise money for needed research. Sale of the Breast Cancer Semi-Postal stamp, first issued in 1998, has raised more than $54 million for breast cancer research.

* As policymakers, we must continue to work together to raise money, promote awareness, and advance treatment for a cancer that is devastating our communities.

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