This week, members of Congress, including the leaders of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, highlighted October’s role as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
On Wednesday, members of Congress stood on the steps of the Capitol to talk about the disease and its impact on Americans.
U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and Lois Frankel, D-Fla., lead the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and they weighed in on the disease.
“My mother, at age 91, is a twenty-year breast cancer survivor and an inspiring example of how to live a full life after diagnosis,” said Frankel. “We must keep the excellent progress in research going forward.”
“There’s no way to predict if and when a woman will find cancerous cells in her breast; she could be 20, 30, 40, or 50 years old,” said Brooks. “We do know that screening saves lives, and that early detection and diagnosis helps women beat breast cancer. The Indiana State Department of Health reports that in Indiana alone, there are 4,400 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year. That is 4,400 too many, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues today to increase awareness of a disease that has no bounds and impacts our friends and families in Indiana and across the country.”
Frankel was not the only congresswoman from the Sunshine State to talk about breast cancer. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., a breast cancer survivor, also weighed in on the matter.
“My family and I are now nearly a decade removed from the day my doctor gave me news I never expected to hear,” said Wasserman Schultz. “As a breast cancer survivor, I consider it my responsibility to share my story. As a legislator and member of the Appropriations Committee, I consider it my obligation to help make lifesaving resources and information available to those battling this disease. This month is important to me because as someone who was diagnosed at just 41 years old, I know how critical it is that women have the information and tools necessary to make decisions about their breast health, because early detection is the key to survival. I’m living proof.”
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 252,700 women in America will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and more than 40,600 women in America will die from that disease in 2017.
