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3 \\\ S. Hrg. 103-154 x REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CDC BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER MORTALITY PREVENTION PROGRAM Y4.L il/4:S. HRG. 103-154 Reauthorization of the CDC Breast a... HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGING OP THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON EXAMINING PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO AUTHORIZE FUNDS FOR THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL'S BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER MORTALITY PREVENTION PROGRAM JULY 16, 1993 Printed for the use of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources ;r 1 ) U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 70-666*» WASHINGTON : 1993 ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-041339-7 Y) S. Hrg. 103-154 ) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CDC BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER MORTALITY PREVENTION PROGRAM Y4.L 11/4: S. HRG. 103-154 Reauthorization of the CDC Breast a... HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGING OPTHE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON EXAMINING PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO AUTHORIZE FUNDS FOR THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL'S BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER MORTALITY PREVENTION PROGRAM JULY 16, 1993 Printed for the use of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources T 13 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 70-656- WASHINGTON ! 1993 ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-041339-7 COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts, Chairman CLAIBORNE PELL, Rhode Island NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM, Kansas HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont CHRISTOPHERJ. DODD, Connecticut DAN COATS, Indiana PAUL SIMON, Illinois JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire TOM HARKIN, Iowa STROM THURMOND, South Carolina BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico DAVE DURENBERGER, Minnesota PAUL D. WELLSTONE, Minnesota HARRIS WOFFORD, Pennsylvania NICK Ljttlef.ELD, StaffDirectorand ChiefCounsel SUSAN K. HatTAN, Minority StaffDirector Subcommittee on Aging BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland, Chairman CLAIBORNE PELL, Rhode Island JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio DAN COATS, Indiana CHRISTOPHERJ. DODD, Connecticut DAVE DURENBERGER, Minnesota HARRIS WOFFORD, Pennsylvania NANCY LANDON KASSEBAUM, Kansas EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts (Ex Officio) (Ex Officio) ROBYN LlPPNER, StaffDirector FREDERIC C. ShawJr., M.D., J.D., MinorityStaffDirector an CONTENTS STATEMENTS Thursday, July 15, 1993 Page Mikulski, Hon. Barbara A., a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland, preparedstatement 3 Gregg, Hon. Judd, a U.S. Senatorfromthe State ofNew Hampshire, prepared statement 5 Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah, prepared statement 8 Wyatt, Dr. Stephen, Director. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, UJS. DepartmentofHealth andHuman Services 9 Prepared statement 12 Brown, Lillian Mae, Baltimore, MD; Alexine Jackson, vice president, YWCA ofthe USA, Washington, DC, and Vicky Rakowski, vice president forcancer control, American CancerSociety, Michigan Division, Lansing, MI 19 Prepared statementsof: Ms. Brown 20 Ms.Jackson 23 Ms. Rakowski 30 Southard, Dr. John W., director, Maryland Office ofChronic Disease Preven- tion, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Margaret Mendez, director, Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, Texas De- partment of Health: and David Momrow, director, Bureau of Adult and Gerontological Health, NewYork State DepartmentofHealth 43 Preparedstatements of: Dr. Southard 46 Ms. Mendez 100 Mr. Momrow 53 APPENDLX Greenberg, Elin, chairman, The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., prepared statement 58 Articles, publications, letters, etc.: Stafl paper on the Reauthor—ization of the CDC Breast and Cervical CancerPrevention Prog—ram Scope ofthe Problem 61 CancerFacts andFigures 1993, fromtheAmerican CancerSociety 64 The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program at a Glance—1992-93, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 96 an) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CDC BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER PREVENTION PRO- GRAM THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1993 U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Aging, of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Washington, DC. eiTli«!ute)71,nitt e met P^suant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room SI>-?28, Dirksen iS5enate'Office Building, Senator Barbara A. Mi- kulski (chairman ofthe subcommittee) presiding Present: Senators Mikulski and Wellstone. Opening Statement of Senator Mikulski Senator Mikulski. Good morning, everybody. I'd like to convene this hearing ofthe Subcommittee on Aging of the Labor and Human Resources Committee. And there are those who might ask, well, what does the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act have to do with aging? It has been the intent of this Chair, with the concurrence of Senator Kennedy, to really take this subcommittee into focusing not only on the specific issues of aging, but the life cycle issues related to aging and what we can do to prevent those diseases that then determine one's life- span and life cycle. We are in the course ofthe Clinton administration not only rede- ftihinnikn.g gWoevearlnsmoehnotp,ebtuotrreeddeeffiinneintghethweaywahyeasluthbccoamrmeitistebeesinagctdoanned with greater focus and attention on prevention and early detection and screening. That is why today we are holding a hearing on the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act. This is indeed a very vmearnyyimportant hearing because of what I know it has meant to so people. I'd like to start by thanking all ofyou for coming here today to review where we have been and where we are going to go on this early detection and screening program. I think you would all agree wthainstistoanthiamnpkortthaentwidtanyesfsoersmiwlhloionasreofhewroemetondaiyn, tshiosmecooufnttrhyemI from many miles, disrupting their lives and taking time off work to be with us. But do you know what? Ill bet the sacrifice that you make to be here today is one you would do anyway to help anyway to help us make sure that we are out here, using a public invest- ment to save the private lives ofAmerican citizens. (1) It is no secret that I am extremely proud to have been associated with the enactment of this legislation. One might say I have been the "Founding Mother" of this legislation. What I am most proud of is the fact that we will be concerned in Washington not only about cutting the deficit, but also about cutting the death rate. Most of the people here today know the hard facts about breast and cervical cancer. Breast cancer strikes more than one in eight women at some point in their lives. Cervical cancer strikes about one in 100. Both strike harde—st on older women, women of color, and women of limited income the people in our society with the least resources. In total, more than 180,000 new cases of breast cancer will be detected this year in this country. Some 46,000 women will die from this disease. And although it strikes fewer women, cervical cancer is no less important. About 14,000 cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed this year. Four thousand mothers, daughters, relatives and friends will die from this disease. Sadly, we do not know either the cause ofbreast or cervical cancer although we have succeeded in almost doubling the funding at NIH over the last 5 years into these two major killers of women. And the request for 1994 will continue to sustain that effort. Maybe now that these diseases are getting the attention they deserve, I happen to believe that the diseases have gotten attention, but we want to make sure women get the attention in terms ofour lives and our lifestyles. My brilliant staffhas written for me a 10-page statement which I am going to put into the record, because I will end up sounding like a witness on this issue. And I am going to ask unanimous con- sent, which I will agree to myself, to put it in the record, so we can go on to taking the testimony. This is going to be a hearing where we listen to both the profes- sionals in the field as well as the grassroots people who put it to- gether. This program has meant a lot to me as I have travelled in my own State of Maryland, and I am very proud of the fact that Maryland won one ofthe grants on a competitive basis to be doing this; that Federal funds have been used to help 12,000 Maryland women get the attention that they need in terms of this early detection. The other day, I was in Western Maryland, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the State of Maryland. Although the people are poor, they are indeed proud. Many ofthem are not on Med- icaid and yet fall well below the cracks to have either health insurance on their own or to be able to afford primary care. The public health officer up there told me how over 300 women in Western Maryland had the opportunity for this early detection and screening because of this grant and the innovative techniques to reach out to rural women. A few weeks before that, I was in Baltimore City with the YWCA who, through their innovative project, "ENCORE," show that you not only have to provide a resource, but you have to create the in- frastructure for people to take advantage ofthe resource, and that we have to deal not only with the issues, but we have to deal with the fear around those issues. The YWCA is to be congratulated for their innovative outreach to people of all colors, but I would like to particularly congratulate them on their outreach to women ofcolor, and I know we will hear about that. And last but not at all least, right at that diner where I took the First Lady of the United States of America to listen to the issues around health insurance reform, the women who work behind that counter, who end up at the end ofthe day with bad backs, varicose veins, and no health insurance, have told me how they were able to take advantage of the Baltimore program to at least be able to see ifin their lives they can't stop stress, they can't stop the prob- lems that they face, they can't stop all the difficulties that come with being a single mother, but what they can do is to make sure that if they have a disease, they will have the resources to help themselves. So today I am going to hear what is happening in other States. I am pleased with the Maryland program, and we look forward to hearing about why we need this program and how now we can ben- efit from the lessons learned. I would also like to insert statements by Senators Gregg and Hatch at this point. [The prepared statements of Senators Mikulski, Gregg, and Hatch follow:] Prepared Statement of Senator Mikulski I'd like to get started by thanking you all for coming here today to 'review where we have been and where we have to go on this most important piece oflegislation, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. I think you will all agree that this is an important day for millions ofwomen in this country. I want to particularly thank the witnesses who came here today, some ofthem from m—any miles—disrupting their lives, taking time offwork and so forth to be with us. But you know what? I bet they would make this sacrifice any day we asked, because, like me, they know t—he importance ofthi—slegis- lation. Like me they have seen the faces the grateful faces ofthe women across America who have literally had their lives saved by this program. It is no secret that I am extremely proud to have been associated with the enactment ofthis legislation. I suppose I've been involved with issues that had a bigger price-tag, that got more press and so forth, but none have been more important to me than this. And that's because nothing is more important than preventing the need- less loss oflife. I have often said that while many people in this town are obsessed with cutting the deficit, I'm obsessed with cutting the death rate. And I'm proud ofthat. And even for those who say that the budget concern should come first, I'm here to say this law more than pays for itself, as cancers detected early cost thousands less to treat than cancers detected late. And anyway, I feel sorry for anyone who tries to put a price- tag on the lives ofwomen in America. Most of the people here today know the hard facts about breast and cervical cancer. Breast cancer strikes more than 1 in 8 women at some point in their lifetimes, cervical cancer strikes about 1 in 100. Both strike hardest on—older women, women of color, and women with limited income the people in our society witn the least defenses. In total more than 180,000 new cases ofbreast cancer will be detected this year in this country, and some 46,000 women will die from this disease. And though it strikes fewer women, cervical cancer is no less important. Almost 14,000 cases ofcervical cancer will be diagnosed this year, and 4,000 mothers, daughters, relatives and friends will needlessly die from this disease. Sadly, we do not know the cause of either breast cancer or cervical cancer, though we have succeeded in almost doubling the funding provided to the National Institutes of Health over the last 5 years for research into these two major killers ofwomen. And the request for 1994 includes the largest increase ever. Maybe now that these diseases are getting the attention they deserve we will learn more about how to prevent them from occurring. Even though we don't know how to prevent these types ofcancer, we do know what we need to do to save many of these lives. The problem is we don't do what it takes. A woman's best defense is regular screening using mammography, clinical breast exams and selfexamination, Pap tests and pelvic exams. If all women over 18 had and regular Pap tests, cervical cancer deaths would be reduced to zero. And if all women over 40 were regularly screened using mammography, we would cut breast cancer deaths by almost one- third. All women should hear this message, and as the National Cancer Institute has urged, think of these tests as a "Once a Year for a Lifetime1, routine. Later we will be hearing from people who have been working with this program and making a difference. I'm particularly pleased that the YWCA Encore Plus Program which got started in Maryland is here today. I had the opportunity to visit those folks back in May, and let me tell you they are way ahead of us. They have been concerned about these issues for 17 years and we have much to learn from their innovative know-how. They've got the people who can show us all how a public and private partnership can work to save lives, not only in Maryland, but all across Amer- ica. And when the United States of America wants to dial 911, so that the women of America can have 411 information, who better to call than the YWCA? We need to be crystal clear on this next point. This law has provided a start in our battle against these dreaded diseases, but we have a very long way to go. I remain deeply disturbed by the tragic and unnecessary loss of life we witness every day from these cancers. America's women deserve more! Right now only 12 States have comprehensive programs providing screening for breast and cervical cancer to women m need. But that word "comprehensive" is very misleading, since those States are providing only a small fraction of the annual screenings need- ed. For example, Michigan provided 18,000 screenings last year but has 240,000 women over 40 years of age with income below the poverty line.