TAKING STEPS TO COMBAT BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer has taken a tremendous toll on far too many Americans and their families. There are very few people in this country who haven't lost a family member, friend, or coworker to this cancer. An estimated 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone, and about 40,000 of those diagnosed will die from the disease. Across the country, one woman in eight will develop breast cancer at some point during her life. While we have made great progress, we must continue to work to find new and more effective ways of preventing, detecting and treating breast cancer.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Astoundingly, of the three million American women who are living with breast cancer, an estimated one million don't know it. Regular screenings and early detection remain the most effective ways to combat breast cancer and improve a woman's chances for successful treatment and survival, and it is critical that we take steps to make early detection more common.

For this reason, I am a strong supporter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which has provided important cancer screening services at low or no cost to more than three million low-income American women who otherwise might not have been able to afford these critically important tests. The Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program is funded through this program and provides screening and diagnostic services at 300 sites across the State. Since its inception, more than 20,500 screenings have been conducted through this program in Maine, and 151 cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed. As one Maine woman observed, "This screening program was an answered prayer. I had been concerned about having to skip checkups lately, but there was no way to come up with the money anytime soon. I will gladly tell all of my friends about this and will gladly return for follow-up."

Screening must be coupled with treatment if it is to save lives, and that is why I also cosponsored legislation to provide the treatment necessary to save the lives of the women who are diagnosed with cancer through this program. Since the screening program is targeted to low-income women, many of those screened do not have health insurance and many more are under-insured. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, which has been signed into law, gives states the option of providing treatment through the Medicaid program for women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the screening program. I am pleased to say that Maine is one of 45 states that have elected to take advantage of this option. If you are interested in finding out more about the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program, you can check out their website or call the toll free number, 1-800-350-5180.

Promising research is leading to major breakthroughs in preventing, treating and curing breast cancer. There simply is no investment that promises greater returns for Americans than our investment in research, and Senator Olympia Snowe and I have been leaders of the Senate efforts to double our investment in biomedical research over five years. Last year, the National Institutes of Health spent $640 million on breast cancer research; this year that figure grew to nearly $700 million. A bipartisan plan to update the 23-year-old National Cancer Act sets out a comprehensive national plan to combat cancer, with substantial and regular increases in the National Cancer Institute's budget. This legislation also includes important provisions to increase access to cancer screening, clinical trials, cancer drugs, and high quality cancer care. I am hopeful that continued funding increases will allow us to accelerate our efforts to find better treatments, a means of prevention, and ultimately a cure for devastating disease like breast cancer. Earlier this year, Senator Snowe and I also wrote to our colleagues in the Senate, urging them to continue funding the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program. Over the past 10 years, this program has established itself as an extremely innovative and accountable medical research initiative, and its ground breaking research is literally changing the face of biomedical research. More than 90 percent of the program's funds go directly to research grants, and it is able to respond quickly to changes in science and to fill gaps in research that are typically underfunded. I was very pleased when the House and Senate agreed to allocate $150 million for this important program for the next fiscal year. Breast cancer is everyone's fight, and there are any number of things that each of us can do this month to make a difference. You can buy a sheet of breast cancer stamps to use on your holiday cards. You can sign up as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society or write a check to the Maine Cancer Foundation. You can encourage a reluctant friend to have her first mammogram. Or, better yet, you can also make that appointment that you have been putting off for yourself and go together. As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month moves forward, we should celebrate life and the progress we are making in the fight against this disease. With determination and patience, we can limit the terrible impact of the disease and bring hope to the millions of women.