Bill Pascrell: “Mr. Speaker, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in America excluding skin cancers and claims the lives of…”

“Mr. Speaker, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in America excluding skin cancers and claims the lives of approximately 40,000 women in the United States each year. An estimated three million women in the United States are living with breast cancer. Another two million have been diagnosed. And an estimated one million do not yet know they have the disease. One out of every eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, a risk that was one out of 14 in 1960. So we are making progress. But it is not good enough. This year a new case will be diagnosed every 3 minutes, and a woman will die from breast cancer every 12 minutes. Of all women diagnosed with breast cancer, 48 percent will die from it within 20 years. This resolution recognizes the importance of education, early detection and treatment of breast cancer, which is critical to millions of women and men and their families across this country. This resolution is especially timely because October is the month we recognize this horrible disease.”