WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 20, 2009 – The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance, together with the Young Survival Coalition®, Breast Cancer Network of Strength® and Living Beyond Breast Cancer,® issued a joint position statement on the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young (EARLY) Act of 2009.
The 11-page position statement discusses breast cancer in young women, the level of knowledge among young women about their risk of breast cancer and programs that target young women, the level of provider education about breast cancer in young women, and the need for support services for young women with breast cancer.
The statement notes that “a shared goal of our organizations is to increase the quality of life for young women with breast cancer. We believe the Breast Cancer EARLY Act, which focuses on women under age 45, will help fulfill this goal.”
The EARLY Act is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Sue Myrick (R-NC), Donna Christensen (D-VI) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). It is sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).
The EARLY Act would create:
- A public health campaign to teach young women that breast cancer can and does occur in young women, but more importantly, to help them establish good breast health habits to follow as they mature;
- An education campaign to increase awareness among health care providers that breast cancer occurs in young women and knowledge of the risk factors for breast cancer in young women; and
- Support services for young women with breast cancer.
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