Mission In Action

June Focus: Determined to Make a Difference in D.C. 


 


Last month, hundreds of advocates--including Komen Philadelphia Board Member and breast cancer survivor, Meryl Weinreb, and Ashley Tobin, Program Director/Grants & Public Policy for The Affiliate--set out to have our collective voice heard at a Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. The objective of this day of activism was to increase the awareness and understanding among lawmakers of their responsibilities in improving access to life-saving breast cancer technology, as well as to help assure the government invests in the next generation of technology that will save even more lives.

 

Although healthcare reform may be considered to be "the way of the land" these days, the prognosis for mammography is still mixed... which is why Meryl, Ashley and others took action to advance the Komen mission.

 

To follow is more about the motivation behind Lobby Day, as well as events of the day. We encourage everyone to read and share this information, and in doing so ascertain the important messages about why and how we can all do our part in continuing to embrace our leaders in this important advocacy work.

 

 

The motivation

The federal government is expanding access to mammogram screening for those in need. But, facing severe budget crises, many state governments are cutting back on vital safety-net screening programs for breast cancer. The clear message to all Komen activists: Together, we have to work harder than ever to make sure that women have access to mammography and other early screening services.

 

The good news is that the new healthcare reform law includes mammography as a required benefit, with the promise of expanding access to screening for millions more women. More good news is that this law and potential expansion come in spite of the controversial recommendation, made late last fall by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, that women under 40-49 years of age not receive regular mammograms. This suggestion generated much outcry, and the new law makes an "equally loud statement" that the task force will not determine women's eligibility for mammograms.

 

The not-so-good news is that, in the face of severe budget crises, state governments are cutting back on mammograms and other screening services.  In all, seventeen states are proposing cuts to their screening funding. In Pennsylvania, there is enough funding for 10% of women in need deemed eligible for screening today. Proposed budget cuts will further reduce the number of screenings for women 50 years old and older.

 

As we know, early detection of breast cancer is a key to surviving the disease. When breast cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate is 98%; but it declines to 84% for regional disease, and 23% when cancer has spread to other parts of the body.  Later diagnoses can lead to larger tumors, more advanced cancers and lower chances for survival.  Moreover, cancer can be 2-3 times more expensive to treat when it s detected later.  All this data are arguments that proposed mammography spending cuts must be reversed.

 

 

Taking action

Led by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the breast cancer movement is mobilizing to expand and improve early detection services. Komen is working with Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure that women aged 40 to 49 are guaranteed the same access to screening as older women, and we're also opposing state budget cutbacks for screening.

 

At the D.C Lobby Day this May, Meryl Weinreb and Ashley Tobin represented the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate in the Capitol Hill office-to-office drive. Their objective was to make sure that lawmakers understand the importance of improving access to the current technology that is saving the lives of women today, and to invest in the next generation of technology that will save even more lives.

 

Additional messages the women reinforced included:

  • The need for new screening tools: Although many breast tumors are detected by a mammogram, mammography does not detect all breast cancer tumors--and some tumors that are detected end up being benign. This is why we need to be diligent about better screening technology. 

  • Need for growing support of awareness programs: While many more women will have coverage for mammography under the new law, we must also continue to support community-based awareness programs provided by private organizations like Susan G. Komen, as well as the Centers for Disease Control. Such programs reach out to women to inform them about the importance of breast cancer screening, generate awareness, and help them find follow-up treatment.

 

Conclusion

We have come a long way in educating the public about the importance of early detection and increasing access to mammography.  However,  as far as we've come, we still have further to go. 

 

As our understanding of breast cancer continues to evolve, we need to develop technologies and screening approaches that are more specific, more personalized and more accurate... and we need to deliver them to patients as safely and as quickly as possible. 

 

Research from private companies and projects funded by the National Institutes of Health all are helping to develop new technologies and improve old ones.  We must ensure that research fits within a broader roadmap that will help guide the discovery and delivery of the new screening technologies to patients. 

 

To help build this understanding, we have asked the Obama Administration to report on the government's investment in new technology.  With a clear understanding of where we are on the road to discovery, we can improve our chances of reaching our destination.  Simply stated: Early screening for breast cancer is a woman's right... now, we need to make sure the "right" screening is available for all women.