IlliNOISY Advocate Visits with Rep. Shimkus
During the August recess, Eloise Quinley of Springfield, visited with her U.S.
Representative, John Shimkus, to thank him for his support of the DOD Breast Cancer
Research Program and to request that he sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 2231,
the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act.
The Congressman has not yet agreed to sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 2231, so Eloise
and other IlliNOISY Advocates must continue to ask for his support of this important
bill.
Local Advocate and Breast Cancer Survivor Ethel Nettlesbey Serving as a DOD Consumer
Reviewer
First Health Care Justice Act Hearing Scheduled!
The first of the public hearings for the Health Care Justice Act (HCJA) has been
scheduled for October 5th, 2005 and will be held in Congressional District 1.
We will send time and location information as soon as it is available.
If you are interested in attending or possibly testifying at the hearing, please
contact Alicia at (312) 364-9071 or ahuguelet@y-me.org.
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to be a part of health care change in Illinois!
Project LEAD® is a science training course developed by the National Breast Cancer Coalition
designed to help breast cancer activists influence research and public policy
processes.
Upcoming Project LEAD Dates and locations:
Washington, DC (Basic Project LEAD), November 2-6, 2005 - Application deadline
passed
Washington, DC (Clinical Trials LEAD), January19-22, 2006 - Application deadline
November 19, 2005
Houston, TX (Basic Project LEAD), March 22-26, 2006 - Application deadline January
22, 2006
San Jose, CA (Quality Care LEAD), August 2-6, 2006 - Application deadline June
2, 2006
United Airlines helped ten IlliNOISY Advocates to attend the 2005 NBCC Advocacy
Conference in Washington, DC.
Thank you United Airlines!
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September 2005 IlliNOISY News
The latest news from the Y-ME IlliNOISY Advocacy Network! Watch for the most
recent edition in your inbox the first Tuesday of each month.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Local Advocates Review Breast Cancer Research Proposals for the Department of
Defense
Breast cancer advocates Ethel Nettlesbey and Rosemarie Rogers recently participated
in the evaluation of research proposals submitted to the Breast Cancer Research
Program (BCRP) sponsored by the Department of Defense. Both women are breast
cancer survivors and were nominated for participation in the program by the Y-ME
National Breast Cancer Organization in Chicago. As consumer reviewers, Ethel
and Rosemarie were full voting members, along with prominent scientists, at meetings
to determine how Congress’ appropriation of $150 million will be spent on future
breast cancer research. Since 1997, Congressional appropriations for the BCRP
have totaled over $1.8 billion.
Ethel, Rosemarie, and other consumer advocates represented the collective view
of breast cancer survivors and patients, family members, and persons at risk for
the disease. The consumer reviewers assessed the research proposals for relevance
to issues such as disease prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and quality
of life after treatment. Through this beneficial partnership between the consumer
advocacy and scientific communities, the Department of Defense serves as an effective
vehicle for responsible progress in the application of science to our national
health concerns.
If you are a breast cancer survivor and are interested in being a DOD consumer reviewer
contact Kay Wissmann at kwissmann@y-me.org.
Update on the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act
NBCC Priority #3: Enactment of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act
(H.R. 2231 / S. 757)
It is generally believed that the environment plays a role in the development
of breast cancer, but the extent of that role is not understood. This critical
issue must be approached thoughtfully and methodically and a national strategy
for increasing knowledge in this area must be developed. The Breast Cancer and
Environmental Research Act would create grants for the establishment of multi-institutional,
multi-disciplinary research centers to study the potential link between the environment
and breast cancer.
Many of our Illinois Members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors of H.R.
2231 / S. 757 but there are many who still have not.
Illinois Members of Congress Who Have NOT Co-Sponsored H.R. 2231 / S. 757
~ Sen. Dick Durbin (D)
~ Sen. Barack Obama (D)
~ Rep. Bobby Rush (D-01)
~ Rep. Henry Hyde (R-06)
~ Rep. Danny Davis (D-07)
~ Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-14)
~ Rep. Timothy Johnson (R-15)
~ Rep. Lane Evans (D-17)
~ Rep. John Shimkus (R-19)
Please visit the IlliNOISY Action Alert page to take action by thanking those who have co-sponsored and urging those who
have not, to do so!
More Than Two in Five People Have Medical Debt, Medical Bill Problems, Study
Says
More than two of every five U.S. adults -- about 77 million individuals -- had
problems with paying of medical bills, had accrued medical debt or both in 2003,
according to a study released on Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund, Healthday News/Detroit Free Press reports.
For the study, Michelle Doty, a senior analyst at the Commonwealth Fund, and
colleagues conducted a more detailed analysis of data from a March 2004 study
that surveyed 4,052 adults ages 19 and older between September 2003 and January
2004. According to the new study, an estimated 27.7 million working adults had
medical debt in 2003 and 62% of those individuals had health insurance.
Recent Smoke-Free Chicago Editorials
Mike Ditka Out of Line
Mike Ditka aired his "scientific" knowledge on the dangers of secondhand smoke
in Steve Rosenbloom's Chicago Tribune column. Please take a moment to write a letter to the editor in regards to Mike Ditka's
insensitive and short-sighted comments about the dangers of secondhand smoke and
cancer. Read the column.
New York Times Editorial - Two Smoke-Free Years
The New York Times ran an editorial asserting that the New York Clean Indoor
Air Act has not resulted in the demise of the restaurant and bar industry and
has rather resulted in significant health improvements. Read the full article.
Congress has been in recess for the month of August - look for more updates in
the October IlliNOISY News.
~ Nearly one-quarter (23%) of Americans have had trouble paying medical bills
in the past year.
~ A recent survey found that 42% of households in which someone has cancer, 35%
in which someone has diabetes or arthritis and 33% in which someone has heart
disease did not have enough money to pay for health care in the past year.
~ The targeted therapy called Herceptin can add four or five years to a cancer
patient's life, but it costs more than $2,400 per month.
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