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Winning Battles against Breast Cancer
Central Ohio is awash in year-round reminders of the fight against breast cancer. Each spring, the LeVeque Tower is bathed in pink lights to raise awareness of the disease, and tens of thousands of runners hit the downtown streets to raise money and heighten awareness of breast cancer by participating in the Race for the Cure. Every fall, central Ohio residents are quick to display the symbol for breast cancer awareness - the pink ribbon - in support or memory of a loved one victimized by the disease, and to help commemorate October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These efforts, however, go far beyond symbolism. They are having an empirically measurable impact in the fight against breast cancer and are saving lives. While the incidence rates for female breast cancer have increased over the past twenty-five years, the mortality rate from the disease has decreased by 2.3% annually over the last decade. Much of the reason for the declining death rate can be attributed to the public education and early detection campaigns waged by pink ribbons and public service announcements. While it has been said over and over, it desperately warrants repeating - early detection through mammograms and self-examinations is the key in the fight against breast cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that women age twenty and older begin monthly breast self-examinations. Women age forty and older should have a screening mammogram every year and continue to do so for as long as they are in good health. Women in their twenties and thirties should have a clinical breast examination as part of a periodic health exam by a health professional preferably every three years. Most doctors feel that early detection tests for breast cancer save many thousands of lives each year, and that an equal number could be saved if more women took advantage of these tests. More good news arrives every day. Last week, the National Cancer Institute reported that the existing cancer-fighting drug Herceptin, when taken by women in the early stages of breast cancer, may cut the risk of a relapse by as much as 50%. If validated through additional clinical trials, this breakthrough could result in saving thousands of women's lives each year in this country alone. While it remains premature to claim we have found a cure for breast cancer, the news has many researchers believing that a cure may be well within reach. And as scientific breakthroughs continue to lead us closer a cure, our hope and resolve strengthen exponentially. I recently rallied 280 of my colleagues to support President Bush’s goal of eliminating death and suffering caused by cancer by the year 2015. The 2015 target is about spurring hope into action, and making the impossible possible. It is about working together and implying all the tools at our fingertips, from research to treatment to patient advocacy, to make cancer a manageable disease. In 2005, more than 40,000 women are expected to die from breast cancer, and only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women. In Congress, I am proud to co-chair the House Cancer Caucus, a bipartisan group committed to advancing federal policies that further cancer research; improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; and enhancing the quality of life of cancer patients. As we commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I ask each of you to continue to focus your energy and resources toward keeping this issue at the forefront of our nation's agenda and supporting those who are waging their own battles against this dreaded disease. |
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