WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to create a national commission dedicated to advancing breast cancer research and ending breast cancer by 2020. The Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer fills a void in federal research efforts by facilitating collaboration between agencies, disciplines, and sectors, and by highlighting promising research pathways that are not currently prioritized or funded. The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act is led by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.).
“More than 750 Delawareans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and thousands more across the country will lose their battle with this deadly disease,” Senator Coons said. “Innovative research has transformed breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, but breast cancer rates have continued to rise, and women today face a greater risk of contracting the disease than they did four decades ago. It’s time to scale up our efforts to combat this disease, so we can move closer to our goal of eliminating breast cancer by 2020. This bill will ensure we use every resource at our disposal in this critical fight, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance it through the Senate.”
The Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act would create a commission to identify promising, underfunded research, encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors, and create opportunities for collaboration across agencies, disciplines, and sectors in the fight against breast cancer. The Commission would report annually to the President and Congress, and is required to ensure that activities are not duplicative with efforts of other government agencies. The bill has 30 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and a House companion bill has 192 cosponsors.
“Senator Coons is truly making a difference in the fight against breast cancer,” said Vicky Cooke, Executive Director of Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, Inc. “His co-sponsorship of the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act will leverage resources and focus on the goal of ending this disease. By identifying strategies for prevention and understanding and preventing metastasis, breast cancer will not be a concern for our grandchildren. In 1975 the chance of women developing breast cancer was 1 in 11; today is has increased to 1 in 8. We can no longer accept the status quo and need to take action to end this disease. We are gratified Senator Coons is helping to meet the 2020 deadline to end breast cancer.”
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 40,000 Americans will die from breast cancer this year. Nationwide, health care costs associated with breast cancer totaled $16.5 billion in 2010 and resulted in $12.1 billion in lost productivity, according to an estimate by the National Cancer Institute.