Mastectomy Hospital Bill in Congress

Grammy-Nominated Performer Jewel Joins Lifetime, 12 Million Viewers and Bipartisan Political Leaders on Capitol Hill to Urge End of "Drive-Through" Mastectomies

In September, as part of the network's award-winning Stop Breast Cancer for Life campaign, Lifetime Television and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Jewel delivered more than 12 million petition signatures to Capitol Hill, urging Congress to pass the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005 (S 910/HR1849). The bill would ban the practice of "drive-through" mastectomies, when women are forced to leave the hospital just hours after their surgeries and before they are ready to go home. Sign our petition now to help end "drive-through" mastectomies once and for all.

Lifetime and Jewel joined the bill's lead sponsors Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Representative Sue Kelly (R-NY), as well as Representative Jim Gerlach (R-PA) and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), several medical experts, advocates and patients, at a Capitol Hill press conference on September 20, 2006.

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005 would allow a woman and her doctor to decide whether she should recuperate for at least 48 hours in the hospital or whether she has enough support to get quality care at home following this emotionally and physically difficult surgery. It does not mandate a hospital stay. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and in the House by representatives Kelly and DeLauro.

Representative DeLauro first proposed this bill in 1996, after Connecticut physician Kristin Zarfos, M.D., brought the ever-increasing practice of "drive-through" mastectomies to her attention. Lifetime joined their efforts shortly thereafter and began to collect petition signatures online at LifetimeTV.com.

Though previous versions of this legislation have stalled in committee, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005 (S 910/HR 1849) has 179 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. With more than 12 million signatures on Lifetime's online petition and the support of the following organizations, we are making sure Congress takes notice: American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, Families USA, Oncology Nursing Society, Society for Women's Health Research, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization.

If you support the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005, we encourage you to sign the petition below and ask your members of Congress where they stand. With the strength of our collective voices, we will not back down until "drive-through" mastectomies are a thing of the past.

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BY CLICKING HERE