Each year, more than 8,400 Ohio women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,900 die annually, according a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.

This month, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act will be reintroduced to Congress by Connecticut Representative Rosa L. DeLauro. The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act will guarantee a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours for a woman having a mastectomy, and 24 hours for a woman undergoing a lymph node removal.

A mastectomy is a surgical procedure where all or a portion of the breast is removed. During a lymph node dissection, the surgeon removes all or part of the lymph nodes in the armpit to determine if it is likely that cancer will spread beyond the breast.

According to her Web site, DeLauro began working on the bill in 1996 after being approached by a surgeon who was looking for a solution to outpatient mastectomies. The bill was introduced to Congress in 1996 then reintroduced in 2001, where it had 189 bipartisan cosponsors.

DeLauro said that this bill is important because it puts medical decisions back where they belong, in the hands of patients and their doctors, not the insurance company.

“All too often, women are forced to go home from the hospital before they are physically or emotionally ready,” DeLauro said. “A mastectomy is not a cure for breast cancer and women often are facing chemotherapy and/or radiation, in addition to physically healing from surgery.”

DeLauro added that by keeping patients in the hospital longer, it ensures a 24-hour support system to provide round-the-clock care following the procedure.

Bill Schroeder, communications director for the Northwest Ohio American Cancer Society, said that the ACS supports the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act and will continue to do so.

“The ACS strongly supports the ability of physician and patient to freely discuss and decide together what treatment, including hospital stay, is medically necessary and appropriate for the patient,” Shroeder said.

He also said that the ACS opposes any effort on the part of health plan or health insurance organizations that seek to limit patient access to available treatment.

While the bill has its supporters, there is also some opposition.

According to their Web site, the National Breast Cancer Coalition does not support the bill for various reasons.

First, they believe work should be done on improving the health care system as a whole.

Second, the NBCC believes that time and resources should be spent reforming the health care system overall, not just one issue at a time.

And third, the NBCC states that studies have shown medical outcomes to be equally good after outpatient mastectomies as hospital stays.

Victoria Krane, director of women’s studies at the University, said it’s hard to believe that anyone would oppose the bill.

“It’s almost surprising we even need a bill for this because it just seems logical,” Krane said.

She added that insurance companies should be paying for the best care possible for their patients. People should at least have a choice, she said.

For those interested in supporting the bill, Krane suggests that students sign the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act Pledge at http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc/pledges or write directly to Bowling Green’s U.S. Representative, Paul Gillmor.