State Senator Joseph J. Crisco, Jr.
September 30, 2009
Senators Crisco & Harris Joined by Women’s Health Advocates to Kickoff Breast Cancer Awareness Month
State Senator Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. (D-Woodbridge) and Senator Jonathan Harris (D-West Hartford), Senate chairs of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee and Public Health Committee respectively, were joined today at a Capitol press conference by their co-chairs and other women’s health advocates to kickoff Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
October 1 is also the effective date of a new law to expand insurance coverage for certain breast cancer screenings. Senator Crisco underscored how women’s risk for breast cancer increases with age, that early detection makes all the difference, and that there is now insurance coverage not only for mammograms, but for additional procedures as well.
“Earlier this year Public Act 09-41 became law, requiring all mammography reports given to a patient to include information about breast density and provide notification to the patient’s doctor,” Senator Crisco said. “The law takes effect on October first and represents another vital link in our battle because mammograms can fail to detect cancer where dense breast tissue obscures abnormalities. If and when dense tissue is identified, the report then goes on to describe the potential benefit of other screening techniques, including breast ultrasound or a breast MRI.”
“Women with denser breast tissue have a higher risk of breast cancer. Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make it harder for doctors to spot problems on mammograms,” Sen. Harris said. “This new law mandates that information about breast density be a part of any mammogram report. That means any suspicious results will get a follow-up, and follow-ups are the first step toward early detection and higher survival rates. That’s important in a state like Connecticut, where there are thousands of new cases of breast cancer detected every year.”
Nancy M. Cappello, Ph.D., Founder and President of Are You Dense, Inc., was instrumental in drafting the new law, and joined Senators Crisco and Harris today.
“When I was diagnosed five years ago with a late stage breast cancer diagnosis, after having a normal mammogram, I was told by one of my physicians that the mammogram didn’t find the cancer because I had dense breast tissue. I wanted to know why no one told me mammograms are limited when finding cancer in women with dense breast tissue,” Dr. Cappello said. “I’m delighted that information about breast density will now be communicated automatically as a result of this new law — an essential tool for early detection of breast cancer.”
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Senator Crisco’s |
Listing of Senator Crisco’s recent press releases and a Press Kit with official head shots and bio. |
Press Aide Laurence Grotheer |
