Breast Cancer Awareness Month puts focus on preventive measures

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and once again we are reminded of the importance of cancer screening and prevention. Every year, breast cancer affects tens of thousands of women throughout the United States, and the chance of a woman contracting this disease in her lifetime is one in eight.

As a child, my own wife Wendy lost her mother to this disease, and her loss serves as a constant reminder to us of how important it is to increase early detection and preventive screenings, and expand access to care for this disease that affects so many of our family, friends and neighbors.

The most recent data from the American Cancer Society estimated that in 2011 more than 230,000 cases of breast cancer would be diagnosed, and of that number, 40,000 women would ultimately lose their lives. Because so many of us know someone who has been affected by breast cancer and in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’d like to update you on my efforts to help battle this disease.

Last year, I fought against the Food and Drug Administration’s move to take the drug Avastin, a treatment for metastatic (stage IV) breast cancer, off-label, which will essentially take the medicine off the table as an option for breast cancer patients. Avastin has shown to extend the life of metastatic breast cancer patients for months, and that’s why I pushed the FDA for months to explain why they wanted to take this proven life-extending option away from the 17,500 women who depend on it in their fight against cancer.

And for those battling terminal cancer, every additional day that they can beat the disease and extend their time with their loved ones is valuable and treasured.

I was also alarmed by recommendations from the Obama administration’s U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that actually proposed fewer mammograms for women.

Prevention is absolutely crucial in the battle against breast cancer, so last Congress, I successfully passed an amendment to stop these recommendations from being used to deny coverage of mammograms to women. There’s ample evidence to support the benefit that many receive from early-detection screenings, and it makes no sense to limit their access to a vital tool in the fight against this terrible disease.

I’ll continue working on these and other issues to make sure that women battling breast cancer aren’t denied access to life-saving screenings or treatment that may extend their lives and their time with their loved ones.

Please contact me with your ideas at any of my state offices or in my Washington office by mail at U.S. Sen. David Vitter, U.S. Senate, 516 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510, or by phone at (202) 224-4623.

You can also reach me on the Web at http://vitter.senate.gov.