Save Women's Lives - Increase Funding for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program

To: Governor Quinn and Members of the Illinois General Assembly


A Right Not a Luxury!
Every Woman Has a Right to Screening and Treatment.

When it comes to breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death for women here in Illinois, we know that early detection saves lives. Early detection means getting regular screening mammograms and clinical breast exams. In fact, a new study shows that three quarters of women who die from breast cancer have not received regular mammograms.

Funding only 1 in 10 uninsured women for mammograms is unacceptable!
Today, here in Illinois there are over 300,000 women over the age of 40, who are uninsured and in need of mammograms. Yet funding for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program will only cover about 33,000 women over 6,300 less than last year at a time when the ranks of the uninsured are growing due to our poor economy. The program received $ 20.6 million in funding for FY09 but its funding was cut to $17.1 million this year. This means that there is no funding for mammograms or cervical cancer screening for 267,000 uninsured women.

There are numerous initiatives to encourage women to go for a mammogram and to use the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program for free mammograms if they are uninsured. These efforts are seriously undermined if the program remains under-funded and in fact relies on women not going for screening so as to avoid waiting lists.

We, the undersigned, demand that the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Quinn fully fund this program so that all women get the mammograms they need to stay alive. As a down payment on that commitment, we urge our legislative leaders and Governor Quinn to immediately increase funding to $31 million. Too many womens lives are lost while still too young, here in Illinois. These are lives lost needlessly to a disease that doesnt kill if found early. We can and should do better.