* Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, October 1 is the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a moment to reflect on the great work done by scientists, physicians and nurses, patients, survivors, and their families every day to detect, treat, prevent and--one day--cure breast cancer. It is a time to recall the personal losses of so many family members and friends. And it is an occasion to measure the important progress made against breast cancer and the improvement in the chances of survival and in the quality of life for women and men with breast cancer.
* But, for the more than 200,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and the 40,000 who will die from breast cancer, it is also time for us to renew our commitment in this struggle, to reaffirm that we will complete this work, meet unmet needs, and once and for all end the risk of breast cancer to our families and our children.
* This is a struggle that we willingly take on for our families, and for families around the world, where a woman dies from breast cancer every minute of every hour of every day. This year, 1.3 million women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and of them a half million will die from breast cancer. As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, we do so as members of a global community facing a common health threat.
* This year brings other important commemorative milestones in the fight against breast cancer. I learned recently that this year is the thirtieth anniversary of Nancy Brinker's promise to her sister, Susan G. Komen, to pursue a cure for breast cancer--a promise that helped spark vital patient advocacy worldwide in the race for a cure.
* This is the twentieth anniversary of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 1990, Congress stepped in to give women access to early cancer detection. By passing this law, we sent the message that no woman should have to forgo life-saving tests because she can't afford them. More than 3 million American women have benefitted from this program.
* This is also the tenth anniversary of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, which expanded Medicaid coverage for American women diagnosed through the screening and early detection services supported by NBCCEDP. Today, this coverage is available in all fifty States.
* Last year, in passing comprehensive health care reform, we built on these early achievements by expanding health coverage and making preventive health care more accessible for all Americans. We did this because uninsured cancer patients are 60 percent more likely to die than privately insured patients within five years of diagnosis. We did this because of the tens of millions of uninsured Americans who deserve screening, treatment and care--but do not receive them today.
* We have important work that remains to be done. Only a fraction of the American women eligible to receive preventive health services under NBCCEDP do so. There are waiting lists at clinics, which mean women whose cancers could have been caught early and treated instead find out when their disease has progressed and spread. There are new screening technologies to be developed, new treatments and hopefully cures that await discovery.
* Madam Speaker, I hope that every American family takes a moment during October to reflect on the progress we've made against breast cancer and to commit to taking steps to protect their health or to contribute in some way to creating and achieving a world without breast cancer.