Op-ed: "Raising Breast Cancer Awareness Among Everyone," (Nashville City Paper)

October 9, 2009, By Bart Gordon 

Thirty-five years ago, I remember watching then-First Lady Betty Ford do something that had not been done before.  She took to the airwaves and discussed her personal battle with breast cancer, calling attention to the importance of early and continued screening.

The former First Lady’s openness about her fight against breast cancer raised the visibility of a disease that Americans had previously been reluctant to talk about.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it is clear our reluctance to publicly address this issue has changed.  This year, even the National Football League used the first weekend of October to raise awareness when players accented their uniforms with bright pink, the international color for breast cancer awareness.

The National Breast Cancer Awareness campaign has been a success, but we still have a lot of work to do.  The unfortunate reality is that more than 40,000 women die each year from breast cancer, and this number includes 1,000 Tennesseans.

My mother is a breast cancer survivor and during her battle I learned that the key to beating the disease is early detection.  Mammograms are the most effective tools that currently exist to detect breast cancer in its earliest and most curable stage.  However, not all women who should be screened are getting screened, and this is especially true among younger women.

I am cosponsoring the bipartisan Breast Cancer Learn Young Act (H.R. 1740) which will increase awareness of the risks of breast cancer in young women and provide support for young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Studies have also found that a high percentage of women don’t fully understand if their health insurance plans cover mammogram screenings.  This is one of the barriers that often stands in the way of early detection.  

The truth is the majority of private insurance plans cover 100% of the cost, while some charge $25 at most.  If you don’t have insurance or your insurance doesn’t cover mammograms, the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program offers mammogram services throughout the state for eligible women.  For more information call 1-877-96-WOMEN.

As researchers work to more thoroughly understand breast cancer and ways to prevent it altogether, I remain committed to supporting efforts to increase awareness and legislation that improves coverage for breast cancer patients.

Early detection and treatment are essential to beating breast cancer.  I encourage all Tennesseans to use October to remind themselves, family members and friends of the importance of regular self-examinations and mammogram screenings.

Congressman Bart Gordon represents Tennessee's 6th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.