Public Policy

Like everywhere else, the current economic situation is bearing down hard on the Pennsylvania state budget - and this has huge implications in our community's fight against breast cancer. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is calling on the Pennsylvania legislature to increase its investment in the HealthyWoman Program with an additional $1 million in the upcoming 2009 budget. Today, the program can only help 10% of the eligible women in Pennsylvania. This additional funding will allow 2,900 women to receive life-saving early detection services.

 

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! We need the support of everyone in the Komen Philadelphia family - especially Pennsylvania voters - if we want to achieve this fund increase BEFORE Harrisburg legislators finalize their budget positions and vote on the 2009 budget. By taking a few minutes now to contact your legislators or to complete our petition, you can make your voice heard in Harrisburg and let your elected officials know you are serious about the need for this funding.


The petition includes more important details about the HealthyWoman Program and talking points for you to use when you talk with your legislators and your friends. Please download, read, collect signatures and return it today.


A breast cancer survivor's view on HealthyWoman

Pennsylvania has done a lot in the fight against this disease. The state’s HealthyWoman Program (HWP) provides free breast and cervical cancer early detection services to low-and moderate-income women who are either uninsured or underinsured. Unfortunately, HWP serves fewer than 10 percent of the women who are eligible for its life-saving services.


We at Komen Philadelphia have joined forces with the affiliates in Pittsburgh and in Northeast Pennsylvania to raise awareness of the unnecessary disparities in breast cancer survival. Breast cancer survivors, activists, elected officials and healthcare professionals are coming together and calling for more state funding to expand the HealthyWoman Program so that the gap in access to early detection can be closed.


Surviving breast cancer should never have anything to do with what color skin you have or how much money you make. I urge all Pennsylvania residents to make their voice heard in Harrisburg as advocates for increased funding for the HealthyWoman Program. — Lorelei McGlade.