Date: 2009-06-03
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentlelady from California for the time. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 109. which honors the 20th anniversary of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the largest and most progressive group of breast cancer activists in the world. So it is no surprise that the race. now in its 20th year. is the.worlds largest and most successful fundraising event in the fight against breast cancer. Over the years. participants have raised tens of millions of dollars to fund screening. treatment and education programs for the medically underserved. And with over 120 races across the globe. it is fitting that when the thousands of runners. walkers and. yes. even sleepers participate this Saturday. they will be part of the newly named Global Race for the Cure. The new name is also fitting because we know that breast cancer respects no national boundaries and is. in fact. the leading cause of death among women worldwide. To be sure. while we have come a long way in the fight against breast cancer. we still have too far to go. This year in the United States alone. over 190.000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of those women will be younger than 45 years old. Each year. 28.000 women younger than 45 are diagnosed with breast cancer. and far too many of them lose their battle. Fortythousand of the women diagnosed nationwide will not survive. Globally. over 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. and almost half a million will die. That is why we cannot rest in our efforts to fund research and find a cure for this insidious disease. and it is why we cannot rest in our efforts to provide education and awareness for all women. We must ensure that they have access to screening and treatment. and we must do all we can to support the more than 2.5 million survivors in our country alone. As many of you know. I recently had my own battle with breast cancer. I am both grateful and humbled to count myself among this growing group of passionate survivors. I was fortunate to have access to the treatment and support that I needed to win my own fight. Through efforts like the Race for the Cure. we can all work together to make sure that everyone has that same opportunity. So thanks to the many people participating in this years racethe countless volunteers. the supporters. the runners. walkers and all the staff of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for making this event an annual reality. And thanks to my colleague and friend Representative GERRY CONNOLLY for his leadership in sponsoring this important resolution and for working with myself and Delegate GREGORIO SABLAN to honor the work of everyone fighting against breast cancer. And congratulations to Mr. SABLANS family on his childs high school graduation. I urge my colleagues to support this wonderful resolution and to take a moment to honor all of those we have lost in this fight and also those that struggle on. Let us not stop until the race is won. Early detection is the key. I did not find my tumor through luck. I found it through education and awareness. All women and all families in this country deserve access to that education and awareness. Let me just issue a little challenge to the 13 teams in the congressional division competing in the Race for the Cure this Saturday. Lets show .all the other teams what our congressional teams can do. step up our efforts in the last few days. and. really increase the participation of the Members and staff of the congressional division for the Global Race for the Cure.