pennsylvania extends medicaid for breast cancer …€¦ · breast cancer . . . there is something...

At a luncheon honoringPennsylvania Breast Can-cer Coalition members,First Lady Michele Ridgeannounced Pennsylvania�splan to include funding fortreating breast and cervi-cal cancer by extendingthe Commonwealth�s Med-icaid program to qualifiedwomen. Governor Ridgesigned this important newlegislation in June. Cov-erage will start in January2002.

New Federal law makesit possible for individual states to provideMedicaid-covered treatment for cancer. Penn-sylvania is among the first states to do so.

�We have been concerned for years,� said

Pat Halpin-Murphy, PBCCPresident and Founder,�that uninsured womenwho qualified for freemammograms may nothave access to treatment ifthey were diagnosed withbreast cancer. After pas-sage of the federal Breastand Cervical Cancer Act,Governor Ridge took thelead to guarantee fundingfor better and completecancer treatment for quali-fied Pennsylvania women.�

This legislation is a clearexample of how working together through thePennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, we canmake our voices heard. Congratulations toall of you who helped make this happen.

FALL 2001

A publication of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition

On the front line in the battle against breast cancer.

PENNSYLVANIA EXTENDS MEDICAIDFOR BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Pat Halpin-Murphy and First LadyMichele Ridge welcome Joan James(center), STAR Trial Program Coordinatorat Fox Chase Cancer Center, to the PBCCExecutive Board of Directors.

For details on how this funding works and when it takes effect, turn to page 2.

First Lady Michele Ridge, PBCC Honor-ary Chair, announces Medicaidtreatment for breast and cervical cancerat a luncheon for the PBCC.

Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition

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The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalitionand our grassroots advocates across the stateplayed a crucial role in legislation extendingPennsylvania�s Medicaid coverage to unin-sured women screened for breast and cervicalcancer and who need treatment. Coveragegoes into effect in January 2002.

The PBCC salutes and thanks GovernorRidge for taking the lead inmaking our goals andwomen�s needs a plan of ac-tion. And we thank KatieTrue, Executive Director of thePennsylvania Commission forWomen; legislative leadersRepresentative Dennis O�Brien(R - Phila.); RepresentativeKathy Manderino (D - Phila.)and Senator Allyson Schwartz(D - Phila.)

Women in Pennsylvania who have beendiagnosed with breast cancer or cervical can-cer through the Centers for Disease Control�s(CDC) National Breast and Cervical CancerEarly Detection Program will have access toguaranteed coverage of their full treatmentcosts through Pennsylvania�s Medicaid pro-gram. The CDC�s free screening program inthis state is called HealthyWoman and isadministered by the Pennsylvania Depart-

a m

essa

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rom

pat halpin-murphypresident and founder, pennsylvania breast cancer coalition

NEW TREATMENT COVERAGEFOR

UNINSURED WORKING WOMEN

* Final details for coverage will be available when Pennsylvania submits its State Plan to the federal HealthCare Financing Agency and the plan is approved.

Breast Cancer . . . There IS something you can do!

ment of Health. It is possible that other freemammogram programs, such as the PBCC�sMother�s Day Mammograms® for low-incomewomen, may also be included*.

The new program covers the expenses ofpatients with breast and cervical cancerwhose incomes are too high to meet the tra-ditional guidelines for Medicaid, a

federal-state health coverageprogram.

According to federal guide-lines, an uninsured womanwith income up to 250% ofthe federal guideline � about$41,000 a year for a family offour � would be eligible tohave Medicaid pay for allmedical expenses in connec-tion with the cancers.* Such

costs as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy,follow-up care and medication would becovered.

The PBCC believes that many womenskipped the chance to get free mammogramsbecause they would not be able to pay fortreatment if they learned they had cancer.Now women will have immediate treatmentcoverage through Medicaid. This is a tre-mendous victory. Our thanks to all of youwho made it possible.

Now women will haveimmediate treatment

coverage throughMedicaid.

This is a tremendousvictory.

SurvivorSpotlight


Teresa Ruhl was diagnosed withbreast cancer six years ago at age 53in the midst of taking care of her dyingmother. She endured a partial mas-tectomy and 38 radiation treatments.Here is her incredible story of survivaland strength.

was 53 and my mom wasdying of lung cancer. My

nerves were shot so I went tothe doctor for a routine physical, in-cluding a mammogram. The doctorcalled me that night with the news.My first thought was, “How am I go-ing to tell my mom I have cancer whenshe is the one who’s dying?”

After the diagnosis, I still had totake care of my mom. Maybe it wasa blessing in disguise because it al-lowed me to never have time to dwellon myself. I went through the mo-tions and did what the doctors told meto do. My mom died during my ra-diation treatment.

To profile someone in

�Survivor Spotlight�,

email Heather Hibshman at

[email protected]

3

Teresa RuhlLancaster, PA

World famous breast cancer physician, scientist, advocate andauthor, Susan Love, MD, spoke at a PBCC breakfast at theHershey Medical Center May 11. The PBCC presented her withits President�s Award for her leadership, compassion anddedication in the field of breast cancer research and advocacy.Dr. Love continues to search for the source of breast cancerthrough her work with the groundbreaking Ductal Lavageprocedure.

Dr. Love wrote the foreword to the �Show Me� book, a projectof Hershey Medical Center�s Breast Cancer Support Group, andwas in the area to promote the book�s second edition.

Dr. Susan Love with PBCC ExecutiveDirector Charlotte Asherman.

DR. SUSAN LOVE SPEAKS TO PBCC ACTIVISTS

Radiation has devastating effects onyour body. It kills the good cells alongwith the bad ones. I developed diabe-tes as a result of radiation, but I’mstill alive!

During my treatment, an oncologynurse called me at work one day andanswered ALL of my questions. Shewas wonderfully understanding. Itruly believe this saved my life andthat is why I’m still here today. Thisone kind act made me realize some-thing: I want to counsel breast cancerpatients. I look forward to havingmore time to get involved with Penn-sylvania Breast Cancer Coalitionactivities and to counsel breast cancersurvivors.

I have managed to keep a posi-tive attitude throughout the wholething. Yes, I was scared and vulner-able, but I remained upbeat. My bestadvice for newly diagnosed women isto try to keep that positive attitude andto talk to somebody who’s been

through it.

The best thing to come out of thisdiagnosis is the camaraderie andfriendships that I would not otherwisehave made. Things that used to beimportant don’t matter anymore. Youlive for TODAY. We all have to playthe cards we are dealt; it’s just a mat-ter of how you play them.

Teresa is a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO and looks forward to getting moreinvolved with the PBCC. Her attitudeis remarkable and it was a pleasure tointerview her. Thank you, Teresa, forsharing your story.

I


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Tamoxifen TodayTamoxifen is, today, viewed as a pio-

neering medicine that is estimated to havesaved the lives of 400,000 womenthroughout the world. It is a pioneeringmedicine because it is the first drug de-veloped specifically for breast cancer.The principle was clear. Define a targetthat is unique to the cancer but that willnot harm the host. The estrogen receptor(ER) is the target. The ER was identi-fied in the 1960’s and used as a test todetermine whether endocrine therapy willbe effective to control tumor growth.Some breast cancers are dependent on es-trogen to survive so an antiestrogen couldbe used to block the ER and control tu-mor growth. Millions of womenthroughout the world have now benefitedfrom the application of this simple strat-egy.

However, tamoxifen continues to reinvent itself andprovide new opportunities in therapeutics. The rigoroustesting of tamoxifen in the clinic over two decades, byclinical trials organizations like the National Surgical Ad-juvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), demonstratedthe overall safety of tamoxifen in women. The knowneffectiveness of tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer inanimals, coupled with the finding that adjuvant therapywould reduce opposite breast cancer by 50%, was strongevidence that tamoxifen could prevent breast cancer inhigh-risk pre and post menopausal women.

The historic NSABP trial, published in 1998,showed that tamoxifen can reduce the incidenceof primary breast cancer by 50%. Tamoxifen isthe first medicine approved in the US to preventany cancer in high-risk individuals.

It has taken 30 years to develop tamoxifen fully fromconcept to reality but tamoxifen’s legacy really is a changein the approach to drug development. Firstly, thirty yearsago cancer was considered to be hopeless. Tamoxifenhas proved that a single agent can provide a survivaladvantage for breast cancer patients with minimal sideeffects. Secondly, it was considered that cancer could notbe prevented. Tamoxifen is the proof of principle that itis possible to reduce cancer incidence and the whole sci-ence of chemoprevention is focused on preventing all

cancers. Thirty years ago there was nopossibility that anyone could apply hor-monal therapies to cure cancer.Chemotherapy was going to eradicatecancer so hormonal therapy was generallydiscounted as hopeless. This was notcorrect.

It is difficult to recapture the sense ofthe times in the early 1970’s when the waron cancer was first declared. No one wasrushing to work on antiestrogens but theseeds of progress had been sown in the1960’s that would change therapeutics.The late Dr. Arthur Walpole in Englanddiscovered a drug ICI46,474 as a remark-able antifertility agent in rats andproposed that the compound might havevalue to control the reproductive cycle or,because Walpole was interested in cancerresearch, might have use in the treatment

of breast cancer. Walpole was the head of the fertilitycontrol program for a pharmaceutical company and couldnot conduct cancer research. However, he encouragedothers to conduct breast cancer research on ICI46,474. Ireceived Walpole’s help and support. The drug was anantiestrogen and went into clinical trial in the UnitedStates in 1973 to become FDA approved for the treatmentof advanced breast cancer in 1977. ICI46,474 becametamoxifen because of the close collaboration between uni-versities and industry.

Tamoxifen today has opened a window to thefuture that could only be imagined 30 years ago.

The specificity of hormonal therapy has resulted in awhole range of medicines to treat not only breast cancerbut also prostate cancer. Research on tamoxifen has re-sulted in a new view of prevention with the recognitionof selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) thatcan not only prevent breast cancer but also prevent os-teoporosis. One SERM, raloxifene, a chemical cousin oftamoxifen, is currently being evaluated as a breast can-cer preventive by the NSABP in the study of tamoxifenand raloxifene (STAR). The goal is to recruit 22,000 high-risk postmenopausal women to determine whether onemedicine has advantages over another. This is the larg-est breast cancer trial in the world. The world has changedmuch in 30 years.

V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D.,D.Sc., Diana, Princess ofWales Professor of CancerResearch.

First LadyM i c h e l eRidge (3 rdfrom left)joins PARepresen-tative Jim Lynch, Regina Weidert and Betty Lynch

at the Warren County exhibit opening in April.

5

PBCC�S TRAVELING PHOTO EXHIBIT

�67 WOMEN � 67 COUNTIES:FACING BREAST CANCER

IN PENNSYLVANIA�

HITS THE ROAD AGAIN!

Breast cancer survivors crowd the stage at the Mayopening at the Lehigh Valley Mall.

Dr. William Singer

and two of his sons

at the Lehigh County

photo exhibit opening.

Singer�s late wife,

Susan, is the Lehigh

County photo exhibit

participant.


Coming ToYour Neighborhood�

September 27�67 Women � 67 Counties�Photo Exhibit in Gettysburg

October 12Shop at Boscov�s,Colonial Park Mall

to benefit the PBCC

October 13Shop at Boscov�s,

Camp Hill Shopping Ctr.to benefit the PBCC

October 18Keystone Breast Cancer

ConferenceHarrisburg Hilton

October 20NAPA Car Careevent in Carlisle

October 23Shop at Bloomingdale�s,

King of Prussia andWillow Grove

to benefit the PBCC

October 26�Flying Colors� art show in

Chester SpringsChester County

For details on anyof these events,

contact Vicki Gingrich at800-377-8828 ext. 101

September, 2001

Frontline is publishedquarterly by the Pennsylvania

Breast Cancer Coalition.

55 New Street, Suite 5Ephrata, PA 17522

800-377-8828

www.pabreastcancer.org


Grassroots Partnersacross the State

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l Corporate Support

Crown American Realty Trust created, marketed anddistributed the �Light for the Cure�, a fragrant candle tobe sold in all of their Pennsylvania malls. So far, salesexceed $10,000. Thank you, Crown American, for yourongoing support.

Shady Maple, a large grocery store and restaurant inLancaster County, donated the coins from their fountainin the month of June to the PBCC. Coins totaled $159.Thank you to the Shady Maple community.

l Community SupportEvery October, the Liquor Control Board allows us to

place donation boxes in each of the state�s 640 liquorstores. Last year, over $10,000 was raised through thisproject. During your visit to the local state store thisOctober, please remember that every penny counts!

l Special EventsThe PBCC has teamed up with NAPA auto

parts stores to offer �Pink Ribbon Check-upFor You and Your Car� events. Visitors geta free car �check-up� and receive breast can-cer awareness information at the same time.Donations are growing and so is awareness.Thank you to NAPA stores and to all themechanics who donate their time and talent.

Independent Longaberger associates host luncheon eventsacross the state to benefit the PBCC. These luncheonsfeature the �Horizon of Hope� basket. Call your Longabergerconsultant to find out when you can attend such an event.Thank you to all the Longaberger consultants and collec-tors.

We welcome your unique suggestions for ways to support the PBCC.Call Community Outreach Director,

Vicki Gingrich, at 800-377-8828 x 101 with your ideas.

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TELL US YOUR STORY

W W W. PA B R E A S T C A N C E R . O R G

In the last issue of “Frontline”, an article by Senators Jane Earll and Allyson Schwartzidentified key concerns surrounding the confidentiality of genetic test results. Help ustake a more in-depth look at the health issues that are in the news and on your mind.

What led you to decide to do genetic testing for breast cancer?

What led you not to do the testing?

How did this work out for you and your family?

This is an opportunity to share your story in an upcomingedition of Frontline.

Please send your submissions to:

Pat Halpin-MurphyPennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition

c/o Doneckers Complex - 55 New Street, Suite 5 - Ephrata, PA 17522Fax: 717-738-9535

We appreciate your response.


It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of Mr. Meyer (Pat)Potamkin. In 1999, Mr. Potamkin and his wife Vivian established the �PotamkinFoundation Award for Breast Cancer Research�to be given out each year at our Keystone BreastCancer Conference. Vivian is a breast cancersurvivor, and she and Pat both served on thePBCC Honorary Board of Directors.

Pat was a pioneering collector of Americanart and was widely respected as a business-man and civic leader. He died July 8 at hishome in Philadelphia at the age of 91. In hiswill, Pat bequeathed a generous donation tothe PBCC to increase the annual PotamkinFoundation Research Award. We extend ourdeepest condolences to Vivian and the entirePotamkin family.

Halpin-Murphy with Mr. Potamkin atthe 1999 Keystone Breast CancerConference.


Address Service Requested

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 1823LANCASTER, PA

c/o Doneckers Complex55 New Street, Suite 5Ephrata, PA 17522

Pink Ribbon Awardees

V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., �The Father of Tamoxifen�Northwestern University

Madeleine Wing Adler, Ph.D.President, West Chester University

Join nearly 1,000 breast cancer survivors, advocates,medical professionals, legislators, and corporate and

community leaders. Everyone is welcome!

WORKSHOPS � CHAIR MASSAGES � AWARDS LUNCHEONAND MORE!

Call 1-800-377-8828 x 104for a registration form.

Or register online at www.pabreastcancer.org

UpdatedPBCC Staff Listing

1-800-377-8828

Carol BurkholderOffice Manager

Kim EubanksSystems Director

Vicki GingrichCommunity Outreach Director

Tricia GroveAdministrative Director

Heather HibshmanProgram Director

Dolores MagroDevelopment Director

Keystone Breast Cancer ConferenceThursday, October 18, 2001Harrisburg Hilton & Towers

pennsylvania extends medicaid for breast cancer …€¦ · breast cancer . . . there is something...

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