Berkley Co-Sponsors Bill to Cure Breast Cancer by 2020

Press Release

Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley announced today that she has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act, legislation that seeks to end breast cancer by January 1, 2020.

According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the chance of a woman developing breast cancer during her lifetime in the United States has increased from 1 in 11 in 1975 to 1 in 8 today. Worldwide, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women with 1.3 million cases and the leading cause of cancer death with more than 500,000 women dying from the disease in 2010.

There is also an economic cost. The National Cancer Institute estimated that breast cancer care in the United States cost $16.5 billion in 2009 and cost the nation $12.1 billion in lost productivity.

The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act would create the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer, which brings together biomedical researchers, business men and women, and advocates to help identify opportunities and ideas in the public and private sectors that could help end breast cancer by 2020.

More information can be found here: http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/what-we-do/policy/legislative-policies-priorities/legislative-priorities-2011/priority-1-2011.html

Berkley has a long record of fighting in the battle against cancer. In Congress she has:

Supported grants for key breast cancer research

Co-sponsored legislation that provided low-income and underserved women with breast and cervical cancer screenings

Sought to end "drive-through" mastectomies

Fought to establish Breast Cancer Awareness Month and increase awareness for young women

"My family has a history with breast cancer, so the fight against this deadly disease is personal for me," said Berkley. "If we remain committed, I am convinced we can end breast cancer once and for all by the end of this decade. I urge my colleagues to join me in passing the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act."

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