Gov. Helps Fight Breast Cancer

Reinforcing his commitment to breast cancer research and care, Governor James E. McGreevey yesterday joined the South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition for the ribbon cutting of their new office on South White Horse Pike in Berlin.

â??This facility represents a new phase in the life of the South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition,â?쳌 said McGreevey. â??Sadly, New Jersey ranks second in the nation for breast cancer mortality. Cutting this ribbon today signifies the continuing battle we must wage in New Jersey against cancer. This facility reaffirms our Administrationâ??s commitment to a common goal of helping more of our citizens lead longer, healthier livesâ??lives that are free from the fear of cancer.â?쳌

â??The South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalitionâ??s goal is to eradicate breast cancer through advocacy and education and to be a collective voice for the men and women in New Jersey living with breast cancer,â?쳌 said Loretta Mikulski, co-founder and breast cancer survivor. â??Since the cause and prevention of breast cancer continues to elude us, it is imperative that we keep breast cancer a priority.â?쳌

The South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition is a non-profit organization comprised of breast cancer survivors, their family members and their friends whose mission is to raise awareness of breast cancer through advocacy, action and education. The SJBCC has lobbied successfully for the federal â??drive-by mastectomyâ?쳌 law, which prohibits insurers from sending women home from the hospital before 48 hours. The SJBCC also helped to pass the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act, which allows Medicare to cover screening and treatment services for uninsured, underinsured and low-income women.

The SJBCC raised funds for the new office through a membership drive, cookbook sale, donations and the Womenâ??s Fund of New Jersey. For more information about the South Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition, please visit their website at www.southjerseybcc.org.

New Jersey ranks second in the nation in breast cancer mortality rates. Approximately 1,400 women in New Jersey will die from breast cancer this year and 6,900 will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Governor has made cancer research and increasing breast cancer awareness one of his top healthcare priorities. In October, the Governor kicked off the Susan G. Komen Foundationâ??s â??Tie a Ribbon Campaignâ?쳌 and also participated in their 9th annual Race for the Cure. While in the State Legislature, McGreevey sponsored the law requiring insurers to reimburse women for mammograms.

Out of the 1.2 million new cases of cancer expected in the United States this year, it is estimated that approximately 41,000 new cases will be in New Jersey alone. Additionally, the American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 18,000 New Jerseyans will die from cancer this year.

To combat this trend, the Governor allocated over $25 million to cancer care and research in the FY 2003 budget. This includes over $20 million for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey to create a web-based â??reverse registryâ?쳌 for clinical trials, to raise New Jerseyâ??s visibility as the nationâ??s leader in the war against cancer, as well as retain outstanding faculty and purchase state-of-the-art equipment.

The Governorâ??s budget also allocated $1 million to the State Commission on Cancer Research, $400,000 to the Stateâ??s Cancer Registryâ??one of the most respected in the nation, as well as $200,000 to early detection and prevention services.

The Governor has also provided over $2.7 million to the Department of Health and Senior Servicesâ?? New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program (NJCEED), which educates women about the need for early detection and provides screening services in all 21 counties. For more information about NJCEED, please click here.

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Author: Press Release-Micah Rasmussen