Think Pinker

Before President Obama was ever president as Senator he was actively involved in October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In fact, he made a statement.

“I’m proud to add my voice in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For me, the fight against cancer is deeply personal. My mother died of ovarian cancer in the prime of her life. And at a time when she should have been focused on getting well, she was lying in a hospital bed arguing with her insurance company because they refused to cover her treatment.”

 “For millions of Americans, my mother’s story is all too familiar. That’s why, as President, I will make the fight against cancer an urgent national priority by doubling federal cancer research funding. What’s more, I’ll enact health care reform that guarantees affordable coverage for every American who wants it, and we’ll make sure that insurance companies can no longer discriminate against those who are sick and need care the most. Because screening saves lives, I’ll require coverage of essential preventive services like mammograms in all federally supported health plans.”

It seems now President Obama will be able to make good on his promises. In America African American women and Latinas have the highest breast cancer rate. This year there will be more than 200,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer, and many of them will not survive.

It’s hopeful now that President Obama is in power that we see significant changes in both screening and treatments that will save lives. Because if not millions of people will loose someone they love to breast cancer this year.

There’s a new kind of energy in just the short time the Barrack Obama has been in power. Let’s hope that energy can find it’s way to a health concern that’s near and dear to his heart since he lost his mother at a young age to ovarian cancer while insurance companies were busy denying treatments that may have saved her life.

Perhaps it’s time to wage a new kind of war – the war on breast cancer.