104 STAT. 900 PUBLIC LAW 101-415 —OCT. 11, 1990 Public Law 101-415 101st Congress Joint Resolution Oct. 11, 1990 [S.J. Res. 301] Designating October 1990 as "National Breast Cancer Awareness Month". Whereas breast cancer will strike an estimated 150,000 women and 900 men in the United States in 1990; Whereas one out of every ten women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life; Whereas the risk of developing breast cancer increases as a woman grows older; Whereas breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, killing an estimated 43,000 women and 300 men in 1989; Whereas the 5-year survival rate for localized breast cancer has risen from 78 percent in the 1940s to over 90 percent today; Whereas most breast cancers are detected by the woman herself; Whereas educating both the public and physicians about the importance of early detection will result in reducing breast cancer mortality; Whereas appropriate use of screening mammography, in conjunction with clinical examination and breast self-examination, can result in the detection of many breast cancers early in their development and increase the survival rate to nearly 100 percent; Whereas data from controlled trials clearly demonstrate that deaths from breast cancer are significantly reduced in women over the age of 40 by using mammography as a screening tool; Whereas women do not have mammograms for a variety of reasons, such as the cost of testing, lack of information, and fear; Whereas access to screening mammography is directly related to socioeconomic status; Whereas increased awareness about the importance of screening mammography will result in the procedure being regularly requested by the patient and recommended by the health care provider; and Whereas it is projected that more women will use this lifesaving test as it becomes increasingly available and affordable: Now, therefore, be it
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