California Breast Cander Survivors and Advocates React to Budget Deal's Impact on State Cancer Screenings

SACRAMENTO – October 13, 2010 – The California Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, welcomed the news today that lawmakers agreed to restore funding for Every Woman Counts Program, the state’s vital breast and cervical cancer screening program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women in need. 

“While there is never a good time to cut the health care safety net, doing so during a recession when people are increasingly losing their jobs and health coverage, the need for help grows,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest network of breast cancer survivors and activists.  “Underserved women in California have been without access to affordable breast cancer screening services for 10 months.  That is unconscionable.  I am pleased California’s lawmakers have finally done the right thing and reopened the doors of this live-saving program.”

Komen for the Cure’s California supporters have worked diligently with lawmakers for months during the historic budget impasse in an attempt to spare the potentially life-saving program. 

“This is remarkable news for the women of our state.  We know that many women in our state are currently not getting the breast cancer screening they need due to the budget crisis,” said Donna Sanderson, Executive Director of the Sacramento Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.  “The unfortunate consequence is likely to be that some of these women may be diagnosed with breast cancers that could have been discovered at an earlier, more treatable stage.”

On January 1, the California Department of Health arbitrarily shut the doors of Every Woman Counts for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ended on June 30, and eliminated future access to the program for women age 40 to 49 – effectively cutting access to nearly half of the women typically screened by the program.  The program has remained closed over the past three months due to the budget impasse.  During that 10 month span, the organization estimates more than 290,000 women will have gone without cancer screenings, including those whose undetected cancers are growing.  

After a record-breaking 100 days without a budget, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers reached a deal to restore funds to reopen Every Woman Counts and provide lifesaving mammograms.  The Komen Affiliates applaud Governor Schwarzenegger and lawmakers for honoring their commitment to women in California.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cure.  Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN