WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 2, 2009 – Reducing the number of breast cancer deaths in America requires improved access to mammography and clinical breast examination, testified Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today.
At the hearing, which focused on the new breast cancer screening guidelines issued last month by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Brawley also testified that health care reform legislation could reduce confusion and improve public confidence by ensuring that the process for determining such recommendations is transparent, inclusive and evidence-based.
“The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40, a practice that saves lives,” Brawley said. “Tragically, the high cost of screenings to patients contributes to the fact that 30 to 40 percent of American women aged 40 and over fail to get regular mammograms. The inability of millions of women to access proven life-saving services such as mammograms is a failure of our health care system.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, accounting for nearly one in four cancers diagnosed. An estimated 192,370 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,170 women will die from the disease in America this year. Only one in four women without health insurance has had a regular mammogram in the past year, and Society studies have shown that uninsured breast cancer patients are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease and have lower survival rates than patients who are privately insured.
The controversy surrounding the task force guidelines caused confusion about when screening is appropriate and emphasized the need to improve the way such recommendations are determined. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the Society's advocacy affiliate, strongly supports action taken by the House of Representatives in passing health care reform legislation that would create a more open and informed process for making recommendations about preventive services.
ACS CAN has proposed the following changes to the function and composition of the task force:
• Membership – USPSTF membership should include experts in clinical and community medicine, health delivery, public health, and health data, as well as patient representation and representatives experienced in minority health and health disparities.
• Transparency – USPSTF meetings should be open to the public, and the methodologies used to establish priorities should be made available to the public through forums and drafts that are subject to public review and comment before being made final.
• Representation – USPSTF advisory panels should include a cross-section of interests, including patient representatives, experts in health care delivery and health care providers.
• Outside sources – The Secretary of Health and Human Services should be empowered to recognize other sources and interpretations of scientific evidence in determining recommendations for preventive services.
“ACS CAN strongly supports language in House-passed health care reform legislation that would lead to a more transparent and inclusive process for the task force to perform its important work,” Brawley said. “We are now working with members of the Senate to ensure that all Americans have access to credible information and coverage that allows them to make meaningful decisions on what preventive services are best for them.”
Cancer in all of its forms is one of the most costly medical conditions. A recent survey by ACS CAN showed that half of people under age 65 with a history of cancer had difficulty affording medical costs in the previous year, and more than a quarter have used up all or most of their personal savings. For more survey results, visit www.fightcancer.org/cancerpoll.
Brawley is a practicing oncologist and the chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society. A world-renowned cancer expert, Brawley currently serves as professor of hematology, oncology, and epidemiology at Emory University. Previously, he held the position of medical director of the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, and deputy director for cancer control at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. He has also previously served as a member of the Society’s Prostate Cancer Committee, co-chaired the Surgeon General’s Task Force on Cancer Health Disparities, and served in a variety of capacities at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), most recently serving as director of the Office of Special Populations Research. He currently serves as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection and Control Advisory Committee.
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 www.fightcancer.org.
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