October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Celebs, Political and Sports Figures Help Celebrate

Tanya Snyder, wife of Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder, along with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, joined cancer advocates and survivors Tuesday, Oct. 4 to emphasize the importance of breast cancer awareness and recognize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).

NBCCEDP has given low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women access to lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings since 1991. The program will perform its historic 10 millionth screening this fall.

The event, held at the Capital Breast Care Center, featured Mrs. Snyder; Secretary Sebelius; Christopher W. Hansen, President, and John Seffrin, PhD and CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), Dr. Louis Weiner, Director of Georgetown Cancer Centers; Stacey Ferguson, high-risk recipient of cancer screenings through the NBCCEDP; and breast cancer survivors.

The Capital Breast Care Center is an initiative of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. It provides comprehensive, culturally appropriate breast cancer screening services and health education to women in the Washington, D.C. area regardless of their ability to pay.

This event is one of several initiatives upon which Mrs. Snyder and the Washington Redskins will be embarking on during the month of October in support of the NFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.

On Monday, Sebelius joined Dr. Jill Biden , wife of Vice President Joe Biden, in several events to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to highlight the affordable and accessible preventive care made possible by President Obama's Affordable Care Act.

The two, along with actress Jennifer Aniston, toured the Inova Breast Care Center in Alexandria, Virginia and hosted a viewing of the Lifetime movie Five, which explores the stories of families whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer.

Breast cancer will kill nearly 40,000 women in America this year, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, but greater awareness about and access to early detection measures can save lives.

At sunset yesterday evening, both the White House and the Vice President’s Residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory was lit pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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