By Kathleen Harris
Historical Perspective: The Breast Cancer Movement
The breast cancer movement began in the early 1990s on the East Coast and soon spread across the country. At that time, a small group of women gathered in Washington, D.C., to develop a strategic plan to address the lack of funding for this disease. In 1991 the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) was founded. The Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition (WBCC) was started in 1994 and quickly joined the movement.
Thousands of women from across the country traveled to Washington in trains, planes, buses and automobiles. They marched on Capitol Hill urging Congress to direct more funding for breast cancer research that was then chronically underfunded.
WBCC in Action
In 1992, the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP) started as a result of NBCC’s petition campaign to increase federal appropriations for breast cancer research. WBCC advocates contributed to this campaign by collecting signatures in Wisconsin and quickly took up the charge to garner support from Wisconsin members of Congress.
Since 1994 WBCC advocates have lobbied on Capitol Hill, made calls to our members of Congress and written letters in an effort to maintain support for this unique research program.
Through the hard work of NBCC, WBCC and advocates across the country, funding for breast cancer research increased fourfold, from $91 million to $400 million, early in the 1990s.
The total amount of funding for the DOD BCRP to date is $3.75 BILLION. Over $45 MILLION has been awarded to Wisconsin institutions for breast cancer research through a rigorous peer review process. These institutions include UW–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, UW–Milwaukee and others. WBCC members have advocated for DOD BCRP funding every year for more than twenty-five years.
WBCC-trained advocates have built longtime relationships with Wisconsin members of Congress, in the House and Senate. These relationships have proven to be invaluable with our members of Congress on key committees with jurisdiction over our federal legislative priorities.
WBCC also addresses the important issue of access to care. You can learn more about this topic in coming months.
In addition to our federal priorities, WBCC has a strong state component. On the state level, WBCC addresses important breast cancer issues and works to gain support from members of the Wisconsin state legislature. Updates on these initiatives will be available soon.
October 2020