Assemblymen John Amodeo And Chris Brown Are Working Hard To Bring Attention To Womens Issues, Especially The

Early Detection Of Breast Cancer.

Many issues are up for debate, but there is one we can all agree on: breast cancer shouldnt take any more of the women we love. Early detection saves thousands of lives each year, and many more could be saved if women and insurers took advantage of them. An estimated 39,500 will die in 2013 even when the survival rate is 98% with early detection. New advances in screening need to be more readily used if we are going to turn more patients into breast cancer survivors.

Demanding A Higher Level Of Breast Cancer Survival

AMODEO AND BROWNS AGENDA FOR ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE FOR WOMEN

Early Mammograms For Women With No Medical Family History: Co-Sponsored Legislation Providing Health Benefits Coverage Of Mammograms For Women Under 40 Years Of Age Who Were Adopted And May Be At Risk For Breast Cancer. Doctors advise women with a family history of breast cancer to begin mammography 10 years prior to the age their family member was first diagnosed. Adopted women and daughters of adopted parents may not have their familys medical history for insurance coverage of this potentially lifesaving screening. (A-2237, Introduced 2/2/2012, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee) A Woman With A Mother, Daughter Or Sister With Breast Cancer Faces Twice The Normal Risk. Having Two First-Degree Relatives Increases Her Risk Five Times. (Tracy Flynn, What Are the Risks for the Other
Sisters if One Sister Gets Breast Cancer? livestrong.com, June 11, 2010)

Expanded Testing For Women At High Risk: Co-Sponsored Legislation Requiring Health Insurers Cover MRI Breast Exams For Women At High Risk For Breast Cancer, If Recommended By A Physician. For women at high risk for breast cancer, The American Cancer Society recommends yearly screenings with both MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and mammography. (A-1839, Introduced
1/10/2012, Referred to Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee)

Comprehensive Screening For Women With Dense Breasts: Co-Sponsored Bipartisan Legislation Requiring Health Insurers To Cover Ultrasound Breast Screening If A Mammogram Demonstrates Dense Breast Tissue. Dense breast tissue makes it harder to read mammograms and is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. (A-2022, Introduced 1/10/2012, Reported out of Assembly Health and Senior Services
Committee with Amendments, and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee)

Women With High Breast Density Are Four To Five Times More Likely To Get Breast Cancer. (Boyd NF, Guo H,
Martin LJ, et al. Mammographic density and the risk and detection of breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 356(3):227-36, 2007)

A Mammogram Will Detect Only About 48 Percent Of Tumors In Women With Dense Breast Tissue. (Wendie
A. Berg, MD, PhD, et al. Ultrasound and Mammography vs Mammography Alone in Women at Elevated Risk of Breast Cancer. JAMA. 2008;299(18):2151-2163)

Two-Thirds Of Pre-Menopausal And One Fourth Of Post-Menopausal Women Have Dense Breast Tissue.
(Cheryl Hall Harris, New imaging tools address challenges of dense breast tissue, AuntMinnie.com, 9/14/ 2010)
Paid for by Amodeo for Assembly, 27 Central Ave, Linwood, NJ; and Friends of Chris Brown for Assembly, 3123 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, NJ