For immediate release: April 16, 2008
Sean Tuffnell
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance
O: 972-701-2111
C: 817-988-1972
stuffnell@komen.org

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance Suggests Questions for Tonight's Presidential Debate

DALLAS, TEXAS – April 16, 2008 - Tonight in Philadelphia Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama square off for another Democratic debate, and the fourth one featuring just the two candidates. While none of the previous 20 forums touched on a topic of great concern to a vast majority of voters—breast cancer—Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance encourages this important discussion to take place this evening.

"Breast cancer touches each of us in some way, and discovering and delivering its cures should be a national priority," said Shelley Fuld Nasso, director of public policy for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance. "Voters deserve to hear how the candidates would address this critical issue."

The Komen Advocacy Alliance suggests the debate's moderators, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, pose the following questions:

• Federal funding for cancer research has stagnated over the past five years. Coupled with rising health care costs, this has resulted in researchers scaling back their work and slowing clinical trials that could lead to life-saving treatments. As president, what will you do to reenergize cancer research?
• Women without insurance, racial and ethnic minorities and women in underserved areas are less likely to receive the care they need and are more likely to die from the disease. What do you propose to do to close the gaps and end the disparities that make breast cancer deadlier for some women than others?
• Patient navigators, who help guide patients through the complicated health care system, are critical to address barriers to quality care, particularly for minority and underserved patients who often do not speak English, have low literacy skills, are uninsured, and/or live long distances from treatment centers. Congress passed the Patient Navigator Act in 2005, and authorized $25 million for these important facilitators, but they have yet to actually fund them. What will you do to ensure that the promise of the Patient Navigation Act is not an empty one?

A 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.

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.