Res. No. 37
Resolution urging the United States Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009 (S. 688/H.R. 1691).
By Council Members Dickens, Barron, Brewer, Ferreras, Fidler, Gentile, James, Koslowitz, Nelson, Palma, Reyna, Rodriguez, Van Bramer, Williams, Lappin, Dromm and Koo
Whereas, According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, except for nonmelanoma skin cancers; and
Whereas, ACS statistics also indicate that the chance of a woman developing invasive breast cancer at some point in her life is about 1 in 8; and
Whereas, Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death, after lung cancer, for women in the United States; and
Whereas, According to an Issue Brief from the National Research Center (NRC) for Women and Families entitled Mastectomy v. Lumpectomy: Who Decides?, in 2006, more than 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer; and
Whereas, The most common methods of treatment for breast cancer in the United States are surgery, which include lumpectomy or mastectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and biologic therapy; and
Whereas, The NRC brief also states that half of women who are deemed eligible for lumpectomy will opt to undergo mastectomy surgery instead; and
Whereas, Such surgeries should allow for a hospital stay sufficient to ensure that the patient is not experiencing any adverse affects; and
Whereas, The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009 (S. 688/H.R. 1691), a bill currently before Congress, would ensure that hospital stays could not be limited to less than 48 hours for a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery, or to less than 24 hours for surgeries involving lymph node dissection; and
Whereas, The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009 would also ensure coverage of a second opinion for any breast cancer diagnosis, as well as coverage for radiation therapy for patients undergoing a lumpectomy; and
Whereas, The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009 would help place control of important medical decisions in the hands of the patient and doctor, rather than with insurance companies; and
Whereas, Patients should not be forced as a result of insurance limitations to leave a hospital too quickly following surgery, against their wishes or the advice of their doctor, nor should patients be denied potentially life saving radiation therapy if they choose to have a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges the United States Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009 (S. 688/H.R. 1691).
Res. No. 583/2006
JM
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