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REMARKS BY: DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE PLACE: The National Action Plan On Breast Cancer's Day Of Dialogue, Washington, D.C. DATE: February 7, 2000
Whenever I speak on the subject of fighting breast cancer - words like: "hope," "courage," and "perseverance" come to mind. It's these same words that remind me of a woman who, just two months ago, became the first American ever to row solo across the Atlantic.
During her voyage, Tori Murden faced hurricane force winds. She experienced incredible exhaustion. And she was alone with her thoughts -- sometimes to wrestle with the knowledge that her attempt the year before had failed. Despite these hardships, Murden completed her incredible journey in just 82 days.
In many ways, the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer team has much in common with Tori Murden and her voyage. You both share that same spirit of achievement and courage through the undertaking of a brave journey. Your six-year record is testament to your perseverance in the face of challenge. And today, you join with Murden's adventurous spirit by gathering together to help chart the unmapped future of our fight to eradicate breast cancer.
Sure, navigating uncharted waters may sound like a challenging job -- but the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer is a group that's familiar with bold projects that call for vision, innovation and good old-fashion excitement. That's probably because you're a team made up of a unique partnership of government, private, and volunteer sectors. And, as a team, you're used to the task of bringing hope to millions of women and their families.
During these past six years, the NAPBC and its many critical partners have caught, and kept, the national spotlight focused on fighting breast cancer. Together since 1993, we've made great progress in getting information about breast cancer to more women. Thanks to the Internet, women from all walks of life can find out about the latest treatments, leading-edge trends in research, and share in the invaluable support of many other web-users. In addition, thanks in part to the efforts of everyone here in this room, research on breast cancer has significantly expanded.
Our growing understanding of the genetic underpinnings of the disease is bringing great promise - and great challenges. That's why the National Action Plan has been at the forefront of developing policies and programs that respond to the clinical, ethical, legal and social ramifications of identifying healthy women who may carry a cancer gene.
Perhaps just as important as research is putting that research to practical use. We're seeing to it that what we discover in the lab is translated into better treatments and new methods of early detection.
Today we can look back proudly on six years of advancements - six years of bringing hope to our mothers, our sisters and our daughters. But as everyone here knows, this fight isn't over.
More than 30 percent of women age 65 and older haven't had a mammogram during the past two years. The possibility of determining genetic predisposition to breast cancer has given rise to many unresolved questions about privacy and potential workplace discrimination. And, above all, there is still no cure for breast cancer.
These are serious concerns that I ask you to address today - issues that need your thoughtfulness. your inspiration.and, most of all, your energy. I challenge you to make today's Day of Dialogue an intense conversation - a whirlwind of brainstorming and problem solving. I challenge everyone here to be creative and to be optimistic. I challenge you to listen, to question and to think big.
Ralph Waldo Emerson would agree. He knew what it takes to rise to the level of exceptional tasks when he said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Tori Murden knows -- that's what it takes to cross oceans.
I'm convinced that these same qualities will help us continue the work of bringing hope to millions -- and that through our hard work and grace we will move to calm waters and - once and for all -- lift the shadow of breast cancer from the lives of women.
Thank you.