Benjamin Gilman: “I rise today to inform our constituents, men and women, that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since…”

“I rise today to inform our constituents, men and women, that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since the early 1970s, the incidence of breast cancer has increased 1.5 percent per year and has only recently shown signs of leveling off. An estimated 192,200 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States this year. And an estimated 40,200 women will die from breast cancer. In fact, Rockland County in my Congressional District was recently determined to have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the entire Nation. This is a distinction I would prefer that my district did not have. The most important message we can send to the women of our Nation is that early detection is key to beating breast cancer. Early detection increases one's chances of survival and there are a number of ways to screen for breast cancer. Women aged 20 and older should perform monthly breast self-examinations, women aged 20-40 should have clinical breast exams done at least every 3 years and women over 40 should have clinical breast exams and mammograms performed annually. Breast cancer in men is rare, but it does happen. In 2001, it is estimated that 1,500 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 400 will die from it.”