EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5185, the reauthorization of the Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or the EARLY Act.

The EARLY Act, which I first introduced in 2009 with my good friend and former colleague Sue Myrick of North Carolina, was cosponsored by a humbling 378 Members of the House and became law in 2010.

This law, which has been capably implemented by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, must now be reauthorized so we can ensure the good work being done by the CDC can continue.

I am very thankful to my good friend, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, for leading the reauthorization effort with me this year. I also deeply appreciate the support and assistance of Chairman Fred Upton and Ranking Member Frank Pallone in helping bring this reauthorization bill to the floor today. It would not have happened without their willingness and their support.

Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to Senators Amy Klobuchar and David Vitter for sponsoring the Senate version of this important reauthorization bill.

The EARLY Act focuses, Mr. Speaker, on a central tenet, that we must empower young women to understand their bodies and speak up for their health. Too many women and their health practitioners think that breast cancer is not something that happens to younger women, but the hard truth is that more than 26,000 women under age 45 are diagnosed with this deadly disease each year, and too often, their breast cancer is a more aggressive form and is caught later than it should be.

The EARLY Act created a crucial education and outreach campaign administered by the CDC and highlights the breast cancer risks facing young women while empowering them with the tools they need to fight this deadly disease.

It is also designed to help education and sensitize healthcare providers about the specific threats and warning signs of breast cancer in younger women that lead to early detection, diagnosis, and survival.

The EARLY Act also created the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women within the CDC, made up of breast cancer medical professionals and advocates from around the Nation. The advisory committee is hard at work developing evidence-based messages for groups at high risk, from genetic testing to fertility preservation and the basics of insurance coverage.

The CDC is rolling out a number of targeted media outreach strategies to reach specific groups of young women who are more at risk for developing breast cancer.

Understanding these risks is critical, Mr. Speaker, because the statistics are sobering. One in eight women we know will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer strikes women from all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. It strikes the rich and the poor, those with access to quality health care and those with little or no health care.

I was a young woman at high risk, but I didn't know it. Just months after a clean mammogram in late 2007--I know my colleagues here have heard me tell my story--I heard those terrible words, ``You have breast cancer.''

Thinking of my children and their future, I underwent seven surgeries, including a double mastectomy, and for as much as I thought I knew as an advocate in the fight against breast cancer throughout my legislative career, there was so much I didn't know.

I did not know that as an Ashkenazi Jew, I was five times more likely to have a genetic mutation that drastically increased the likelihood of getting breast or ovarian cancer. I did not know that I am in fact a carrier of the BRCA gene, which gave me up to an 85 percent lifetime chance of getting breast cancer and up to a 60 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer.

I was fortunate that I had the resources I needed to learn about my risks and got the help I needed, but I didn't find my tumor through luck, Mr. Speaker. I found it through knowledge and awareness, which is what the EARLY Act has been able to give so many young women.

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer and experienced the importance of early detection firsthand, I knew that I had to introduce legislation to help other young women facing this terrible disease.

In the first few years of this law, the CDC has already accomplished incredible work: identifying where the gaps exist in education and awareness among young women and healthcare providers about breast health; supporting young survivors through grants to organizations focused on helping these survivors cope with the many unique challenges that they face as young survivors, including fertility preservation and long-term survivorship challenges; and in implementing a targeted media campaign, including innovative social media efforts to reach women at the highest risk.

The EARLY Act has also supported specific statewide initiatives. In Georgia, the State established a statewide breast cancer genetics services network for referrals of women at high risk and to help collect baseline and post-implementation data.

In 2012, Michigan distributed over 14,000 Michigan Department of Community Health cancer family history guides to assist providers in identifying high-risk patients for referral to genetic specialists.

In addition to the 30 bipartisan cosponsors here in the House, the reauthorization of the EARLY Act has the support of the Susan G. Komen foundation, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Livestrong Foundation, Young Survival Coalition, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Cancer Support Community, FORCE, the Black Women's Health Imperative, and the Tigerlily Foundation.

I know these groups have a deep understanding of both the amazing work we have accomplished so far but also the challenges that lie ahead. We must continue these important efforts and empower more women with the knowledge and tools they need to fight this disease, not just to survive, but to thrive. Together, we can save more of our moms, sisters, grandmothers, daughters, and sister friends.

Please help us keep up the momentum and stand with Congresswoman Ellmers and myself and countless young women in support of reauthorization of the EARLY Act.

Mr. Speaker, if I might add, on Sunday, I marked a celebration of 7 years as a survivor of breast cancer, so this is particularly poignant and significant, and I am so appreciative of the leadership of the House on both sides of the aisle for giving this bill the full attention that it needs and deserves.

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