FARNESE URGES CONGRESS TO KEEP MAMMOGRAM FUNDING INTACT

WHO:

State Sen. Larry Farnese (D-Phila.)

Dr. Barbara C. Cavanaugh, Director of Breast Imaging, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Dr. Gordon F. Schwartz, Director Jefferson Breast Care Center

Leslie Stiles, Executive Director, PA Commission for Women

Elizabeth Goldfield, Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Dr. Jennifer Simmons, Living Beyond Breast Cancer

WHAT:              News conference urging Congress to keep the funding of mammograms intact as the health care debate moves forward.

WHEN:             Thursday, January 14 at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:           Eakins Lounge, First Floor, Thomas Jefferson University Alumni Hall
1020 Locust St. (between 10^th and 11^th Streets), Philadelphia

 DETAILS: A recent study by the United States Preventative Services Task Force stated that women in their 40s do not need a mammogram and that self-examinations hold no value.  State Sen. Larry Farnese will be introducing a resolution to urge Congress not to follow this recommendation.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman's life is a little less than 1 in 8 (12%).  

In 2009, the ACS estimated that about 40,170 women would die from breast cancer.  Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment.

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