Healey Signs Bill to Address Breast Cancer Screening Inequities
Legislation will eliminate costly barriers to follow up breast cancer screening
Breast Density Legislation Would Standardize Patient Education and Empower Informed Decision Making
February 4, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- February 4, 2015 -- Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Steve Israel (D-NY) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced legislation today that will provide women and doctors information on breast density and its potential impacts on masking the presence of breast cancer. The bill, the Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act (S. 370/H.R. 716), would direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop evidence-driven language on dense breast tissue that would be provided in writing to women following a mammogram.
Too often, women are simply told that they are at higher risk of cancer because they have dense breast tissue without any other information. More research is needed on how breast density impacts breast cancer screening. The bill introduced today encourages the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to support an applied research program for breast density and breast cancer screening.
"When a woman with dense breast tissue gets a mammogram today, there is no consistency in how she is informed about the effects of having dense breasts," said Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society.
This legislation will empower women and their doctors to make more informed decisions by giving women the facts about screening and breast density that give them a better understanding of their own health. Breast density can only be determined by a mammogram. The American Cancer Society recommends that women receive an annual mammogram beginning at age 40.
The Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act will help ensure that women who are found to have dense breasts are encouraged to have a follow-up conversation directly with their doctor about next steps based on their individual risk factors.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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