I’m anxious to hop on my treadmill for a quick walk—back in training mode.  But I’m even more anxious to share my excitement at the latest news coming out of Washington.  Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz along with Senator Amy Klobuchar announced legislation they will introduce to educate young women (women under 40) about their risks of breast cancer.  In a TV interview, Debbie Wasserman Schultz talks about her own successful battle with breast cancer that included 7 surgeries over the course of the year. 

Ironically, she just told her children Saturday Night which made me chuckle a bit since there wasn’t anything my kids didn’t know.  I’m guessing if I was a Politician I might have kept my discussion about my new nipples to myself instead of posting on my Facebook status and blogging about them.  But I’m not and I did.  And now I’m digressing a bit. 

Representative Wasserman Schultz sums it up so well when she says that people don’t necessarily think about breast cancer under 40 (unless you have a family history and actually know you have one—unlike me).  Even Physicians don’t always look at breast cancer as a serious risk for women under 40 and often insurance companies don’t want to pay for diagnostic testing for women under 40.  So the plan for this bill is to change all of that with The Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act (EARLY Act) which would direct the CDC to implement a national education campaign directed at women under 40 and Physicians. 

This bill will truly save lives by making sure women understand their risks before they turn 40. Right now there are over 250,000 women under the age of 40 living with a breast cancer diagnosis.  Each year over 10,000 young women are diagnosed and 1,000 of them die.  It’s time to make sure everyone knows they are at risk for breast cancer regardless of their age.  Thank you my fellow survivor for helping us all through this battle.