Sign the Petition: Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

Story from a nurse:
I'll never forget the look in my patients' eyes when I had to tell her
she had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breasts. I
remember begging the Doctors to keep this women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.
So there I sat with my patient giving her the instructions she needed to
take care of herself, knowing full well she didn't grasp half of what I
was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' she muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove
cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy,
you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards.
Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient
procedure.
Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Mastectomy Bill in Congress
It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important! Please take the time
and do it really quick!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for
patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site. You need not give
more than your name, email and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

This takes about 2 seconds.
On behalf of all women, THANK YOU.

Breast Cancer Awareness

Take care of your health now...the life you save may be your own

Breast Cancer Awareness - Facts & Tips:

Every 2 minutes, there is a new breast cancer diagnosis.

Every 14 minutes, a life is lost to the disease.

Over 40,000 people will die this year; about 400 of them will be men.

85% of all diagnoses have no family history.

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between ages 40 and 55.

A Snapshot of Breast Cancer ~ Incidence and Mortality Rate Trends:

In the United States, breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Each year, a small number of men also are diagnosed with or die from breast cancer. Although the breast cancer diagnosis rate has increased, there has been a steady drop in the overall breast cancer death rate since the early 1990's.

While the incidence rate is lower for African Americans than Whites, the mortality rate is higher. Women of other racial and ethnic groups have lower incidence and mortality rates.

It is estimated that approximately $8.1 billion* is spent in the United States each year on treatment of breast cancer.

*In 2004 dollars, as reported in Brown ML, Riley GF, Schussler N, and Etzioni RD. Estimating health care costs related to cancer treatment from SEER-Medicare data. Medical Care 2002 Aug; 40 (8 Suppl): IV-104-17

Source for incidence and mortality data: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and the National Center for Health Statistics. Additional statistics and charts are available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/

Age and health history can affect the risk of developing breast cancer.
Anything that increases your chance of getting a disease is called a risk factor.

Risk factors for breast cancer include the following:
Older age.
Menstruating at an early age.
Older age at first birth or never having given birth.
A personal history of breast cancer or benign (noncancer) breast disease.
A mother or sister with breast cancer.
Treatment with radiation therapy to the breast/chest.
Breast tissue that is dense on a mammogram.
Taking hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.
Drinking alcoholic beverages.
Being white.

A doctor should be seen if changes in the breast are noticed. Get a Mammogram Every 1 to 2 Years. Finding the disease early with mammograms and breast exams by your doctor or nurse or yourself can save your life. For yourself and your family, call your doctor for an exam and mammogram today !!!

Acknowledgement given to the National Cancer Institute as originator of the information provided herein, with the NCI web site www.cancer.gov as the source.