Democratic Candidates Face Off in Texas — But Omit Key Issue

Voters Want to Hear What Candidates Will Do to Fight Breast Cancer

AUSTIN, TEXAS – February 21, 2008 – The Democratic presidential candidates faced off in a wide-ranging debate in Austin, Texas. We applaud the candidates for addressing problems with access to health care, the uninsured and the skyrocketing costs, but we regret that breast cancer – an issue identified by 62 percent of Americans as the key health issue facing women today – was not a topic of the debate.
 
"We truly appreciate Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's lively and informative discussion of a wide range of issues important to all of us," said Diane Balma, head of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance. "But we were disappointed that breast cancer, which takes the lives of more than 40,000 U.S. women a year, and at higher rates for Hispanic and African American women, was not addressed during the debate. While only one in 10 voters is aware of their preferred presidential candidate's position on issues relating to breast cancer, the candidates are missing a ripe opportunity to draw distinctions between their health care policies and inform voters on how they plan to end breast cancer and its disparities forever."
  
A recent nationwide survey commissioned by the Komen Advocacy Alliance revealed voters' attitudes about health care, breast cancer and the 2008 election. More than 90 percent of voters want the federal government to pay more attention to breast cancer research, screening and early detection and access to quality care for all. A majority of voters (62 percent) believe breast cancer is the most critical health problem facing women today. This is also true among low-income, minority and underserved populations surveyed, which are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women.
 
"We were glad to hear Senators Clinton and Obama discuss the gaps in the health care system," added Balma. "But the 2.5 million breast cancer survivors and their families in Texas, Ohio and across the country want to hear more about what they will do to end breast cancer—and all cancers—forever."
 
The Komen Advocacy Alliance has launched a special project, I Vote for the Cure^TM, to educate voters and challenge the presidential candidates to make breast cancer a priority, in their platforms, and for our country. We are challenging candidates to address three achievable goals that will save lives and help end breast cancer forever: increasing investment in translational research, improving access to screening, and ensuring quality treatment for all women. For more information, visit www.IVotefortheCure.org.

About the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982 that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and since then the organization has been at the forefront of a global fight against breast cancer. Through the newly formed Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance, a tax-exempt, 501c4 nonpartisan organization, Komen for the Cure is taking the next logical next step in its evolution: expanding its reach in the health policies arena. With the freedom to actively lobby for life-saving breast cancer public policy change, the Komen Advocacy Alliance will directly engage policymakers and opinion leaders to advocate for increased funding for breast cancer research and greater access to screening and treatment.