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We want YOU to join the IlliNOISY delegation in Washington for the 2008 Annual Advocacy Training
Conference! |
March 2008 IlliNOISY e-News
Did you know?
- Since the expansion of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program in October of 2007, over 9,000 women have
enrolled in the program! 7,000 of those women are new to the program. This is an increase of 125% compared to this time last year.
- Y-ME Illinois now has a Polish section on our website! www.y-me.org/illinois
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Ana Troyer, Rachel Runnals and Shirley Mertz at Team Leader Training in Washington, DC!
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Conference Reminders!
If you are already signed up....
SAVE THE DATE: Conference Orientation: April 7th,
2008 5:30-6:30. All conference attendees are asked to either call in or join us in the Y-ME Illinois office. We will go over conference logistics,
legislative priorities and more!
DON’T FORGET! If you have yet to apply for the Y-ME Illinois travel
scholarship, you must fax, email or mail it into Y-ME Illinois by this Friday, March 21st.
If you are planning on going but have not signed up
yet...
REGISTER NOW! For the NBCC Annual Advocacy Training Conference in Washington, DC.
Any questions, call Rachel at 312-364-9071.
Get More Involved!
Join our Legislative Contact Team! Each Congressional district has lead
advocates that respond when an important alert is sent out.
Y-ME Illinois Advocacy is currently looking for Legislative Contact Team Members in the following districts:
- Rush (1)
- Costello (12)
- Biggert (13)
- Johnson (15)
- Hare (17)
- Shimkus (19)
If you are interested, please contact Rachel Runnals at rrunnals@y-me.org! We will ensure that you are trained to comfortably speak on the issues for which we advocate. Past
conference attendees are encouraged to take part!
Enroll in the Illinois Women’s Health
Registry!
The Illinois Women’s Health Registry is now available to all female Illinois residents over the age of 18! To enroll, please
visit https://whr.northwestern.edu/
or call 800.984.IWHR to request a paper version. The Institute for Women’s Health Research at Northwestern University has developed the
Registry to improve our understanding of women’s health status in Illinois by tracking general trends over time and to identify a pool of women
who are interested in participating in important research to advance women’s health. The Registry is a confidential questionnaire that contains
questions regarding a woman’s environment, her health-related behaviors, her health symptoms, and any illnesses or conditions she may have now
or has had in the past. All information will be stored on a secured server with SSL encryption-the same level of security used for banking and
healthcare sites. We hope that you will encourage your female relatives, friends and colleagues to participate in this new initiative.
Questions or comments can be directed to:
Tel: 312.503.1308/Toll Free: 800.984.IWHR/Fax: 312.503.1461/Email: whr@northwestern.edu
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Illinois General Assembly:
HB5192: Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment
House Bill 5192 enacts recommendations of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force.
Based on a 2007 study of disparities in detection and treatment of breast cancer by the Sinai Urban Health
Institute, the breast cancer mortality rate for black women in Chicago was 68% higher than that of white women in 2003. This was an increase
from a 49% disparity rate for the years 1999 through 2003. Breast cancer is also the most common cancer among Latinas. Studies show Latinas have
lower screening rates and are much more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage when the disease is more deadly.
House Bill 5192 would begin to close the gap on these disparities by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for
mammography and screenings to give incentives for providers to participate, provide bonus payments to Medicaid providers using best practice
screening and treatments, and create a patient reminder system for female Medicaid recipients to encourage regular screening. It would also obligate
insurers to cover pain medication for women undergoing breast cancer treatment and reduce the financial barriers to allow for easier access to
screenings. House Bill 5192 would also enact a Patient Navigator pilot program that would determine if treatment outcomes are better for women who
have assistance in coordinating and managing their care.
UDATE: Last week, the Illinois House of Representatives’ Health and Healthcare Disparities
Committee passed HB5192 / the Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities Act by a unanimous vote of 10-0.
Illinois Senate Bill 2134: Wigs for Cancer Patients
Illinois General Assembly Senate Sponsors: Sen. Linda Holmes & Jacqueline Y. Collins
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health
Services Plans Act to provide coverage for wigs or other scalp prostheses worn for hair loss caused by chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer
or other conditions.
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National Legislative Update
BCERA: March 27th the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed
the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (BCERA). This is a major victory for all of us who have worked so very hard over 8 years to get this
legislation passed. Keep watch of your inbox of Action Alerts asking for your action to get the full Senate to support the BCERA.
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program: The Dear Colleague Letter has just
finished circulating through the House of Representatives. We are asking that Congress show their support for appropriating $150 million in FY
09 for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. Thank you to the Legislative Contact Team for making calls urging Representatives to
sign the letter!
Have you heard about the Preexisting Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act?
(HR2833/S2236)These important bills help eliminate barriers to health insurance coverage for people with chronic, disabling, and/or
life-threatening conditions. The Preexisting Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act would:
- Shorten the amount of time during which an employer can exclude health coverage;
- Reduce the number of individuals who are unable to obtain health care coverage due to a pre-existing condition, and;
- Apply the same pre-existing condition protections afforded to individuals in the group health insurance market to individuals moving to, and
within, the individual health insurance market.
Act now
and tell your Congressmen to please cosponsor the Preexisting Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act!
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Policy and
Access News: Click on title to read full story
Research in the News:
Possible Cause Of 'Chemo Brain' In Breast Cancer Patients
Found ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2008)
Thanks to early diagnosis and chemotherapy, more women survive breast cancer than ever before. However, following treatment,
approximately 25 percent of survivors experience mild to moderate memory, concentration and cognitive problems known as "chemobrain".
Research findings from a
Queen's University study have for the first time uncovered a possible biological link between severe psychological stress and an increased risk of
developing breast cancer.
Women whose breast cancer came back after
treatment had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood than did women who remained cancer-free -- despite treatment with anti-estrogen drugs in a
majority of the women -- according to researchers in a study published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research
Recurrent low-grade serous carcinoma, a rare type of
ovarian cancer, is less sensitive to chemotherapy and therefore more difficult to treat than more common high-grade ovarian cancers, according to
researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
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Y-ME Ilinois
300 W. Adams, Suite 430
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 364-9071, ext. 19
Fax: (312) 364-9066
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