My wife Barbara is a 28-year breast cancer survivor. The issue is personal to me, but really, it’s personal to all of us.
An estimated 232,670 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed and an estimated 40,000 deaths from the disease occurred in 2014, according to the National Cancer Institute. An estimated 2,899,726 women were living with breast cancer in the United States in 2011.
The research toward a cure can’t come quickly enough. That’s why I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to help.
The bill would establish a “Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer” to help end breast cancer by 2020. The commission would identify promising research. It would encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors. And it would create opportunities for collaboration across disciplines that might advance the mission of ending breast cancer.
I’ve been asked whether the commission is necessary when so much research and so many organizations are already devoted to fighting breast cancer. This commission is meant to fill a void in the coordination and communication among the innovators who are working on a cure. The commission is subject to termination in three years if it doesn’t show progress in meeting its goal.
On behalf of everyone affected by breast cancer, I hope this legislation is enacted and that the commission achieves and even exceeds expectations.