Every October, we come together as a nation of patients, survivors, family, and friends in an effort to increase awareness of breast cancer.  We have made tremendous progress through the years in the fight against this disease. The breast cancer death rate in the United States has largely decreased since 1990.
 
The continued decline in the mortality rate is an important indicator of success in the fight against cancer, made possible in large part by advances in early detection and treatment. Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40. A clinical breast exam should be part of a periodic health examination, about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s. Early detection is critical as one in eight women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime. 
 
But while we have witnessed significant progress through the years, the statistics are still alarming.  Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. According to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, in 2011 alone, more than 230,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and approximately 40,000 will die from the disease. Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women.
 
We have a responsibility in Congress to ensure that research for all cancers is a national priority. Through cancer research, prevention initiatives, expanded access to care, and early detection programs, we can eliminate cancer as a major health threat. 
 
Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with cancer and the personal toll that it takes. Almost everyone in the nation has been touched by cancer in some form, whether as a survivor, or as a family member or loved one of a cancer patient. We cannot rest until we have a cure.

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