U.S. Senate Votes to Continue Top-Selling Commemorative Stamp through 2015 to Support Critical Breast Cancer Research
WASHINGTON — December 6, 2011 — Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest breast cancer organization, today applauded the Senate’s four-year extension of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act, which provides significant funds for breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health. The bill was passed by the Senate by unanimous consent late Monday, December 5, 2011. Now, it will be sent to the House for consideration.
The Breast Cancer Research Stamp has been the U.S. Postal Service’s most popular commemorative stamp, with nearly 925 million sold since it was first issued in 1998. It has generated over $74 million for breast cancer research and treatment programs, with 70 percent distributed to the National Institutes of Health, and 30 percent to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense.
“The nation’s 2.5 million breast cancer survivors are living proof that pioneering research has saved many lives from this disease,” said Komen Founder and CEO Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker. “But with more than 230,000 new cases of breast cancer expected in the U.S. this year, the fight against breast cancer is far from over. The stamp’s reauthorization through 2015 will generate much-needed funds for research, and we are grateful for those lawmakers who introduced and supported this bill.”
Brinker added special thanks to Senate sponsors Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), as well as the 66 senators who co-sponsored the bill.
The stamp is offered by the U.S. Postal Service for 55 cents, and is valid as a 44-cent first class stamp. Eleven cents is earmarked to breast cancer research. The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler, a breast cancer survivor who served as the U.S. Postal Service Art Director. It features Whitney Sherman’s depiction of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, and incorporates the essential message behind the stamp: “Fund the Fight. Find a Cure.”
Research projects funded by the stamp since 2000 include: $12.5 million in NCI grants to support well-established research that would have otherwise gone unfunded; a clinical trial to select breast cancers for chemotherapy treatment based on indications of the risk of recurrence, and an ongoing comprehensive program in breast cancer pre-malignancy research.
