The election is over, but Breast Cancer Action’s work is not.
We are ready to roll up our sleeves to work with—and hold accountable—President-Elect Biden and all of our leaders, to cultivate a world where our lives and communities are not threatened by breast cancer. For 30 years, we’ve been the watchdog for the breast cancer movement. And we’re not stopping anytime soon.
We have reasons to be hopeful that with a new administration, we will be able to make progress for those living with and at risk of breast cancer. Ending cancer is a priority of President-Elect Biden and one of the issues he championed as Vice President. And Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris has gained a great respect for science and an urgency to end cancer from her late mother, Dr. Shyamala Harris, who was a groundbreaking breast cancer researcher and a committed supporter of Breast Cancer Action.
While we look forward to working closely with the incoming administration, we know Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won’t solve the breast cancer crisis on their own. As you know, they have not committed to ending fracking (which is linked to an increased risk for breast cancer) and while the Affordable Care Act provided many with access to health insurance and outlawed pre-existing condition exclusions, it still falls short of universal access. There is much work still to be done and now we feel instead of just holding the tide, we can strategically work to make meaningful gains.
We know that change does not start at the top, it is driven forward by collective power. Progress is achieved by grassroots organizing and by holding the powerful accountable. We will continue the work that our founders started 30 years ago – working tirelessly until lives and communities are no longer threatened by breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Action will do everything we can to make sure the Biden/Harris administration make the changes necessary to stop breast cancer. Here’s what we’ll continue to call for:
- We will continue our regulatory and legislative advocacy, calling on federal agencies to strengthen environmental regulations, provide more information on chemical exposures that increase breast cancer risk, improve safety standards for drugs and devices, and work towards universal access to care.
- We will continue to provide critical analysis of new treatments, decisions, and policies that puts public health before corporate profit and let you know what you can do to take action.
- We will continue to ensure no community bears a disproportionate burden of this disease by demanding systemic changes that confront health inequities, racism, and environmental injustice.
Our work does not stop just because the polls have closed and a new and more progressive administration has taken over. For 30 years, we’ve spoken truth to power on behalf of the breast cancer movement, and we look forward to moving these demands forward alongside a more receptive administration.
With gratitude and hope,
Marj Plumb, DrPH
Interim Executive Director
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