The reauthorization process made it possible to add provisions to strengthen MQSA and make it more efficient. The American Cancer Society's main priority during the reauthorization effort was to ensure women would be directly notified of their mammogram results in easy-to-understand language. The Society has been a longtime advocate of direct patient notification of mammography results. ACS provided assistance in drafting the direct notification provision and brought Society staff before the House Commerce Committee to testify.

"Thanks to the hard work of Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health and the Environment Chairman Rep. Michael Bilirakis and its ranking member, Rep. Sherrod Brown, I'm happy to say that the direct notification provision was added to the House reauthorization of MQSA. We've had a long standing commitment to assuring that the potential of mammography to save lives from breast cancer is not compromised by a failure of breast imaging to meet quality standards. With this improved version of MQSA moving out of the House, American women can be much more certain of detecting breast cancer as early as possible," said Sally West Brooks, chair of the Society's National Public Issues/Public Policy Committee.

"We applaud the work of the House on this bill. As the bill moves forward, the American Cancer Society is working with the Senate on its version of MQSA so women in the United States will continue to have access to the best breast cancer detection network and program in the world."

Steve Rosa

American Cancer Society
202-661-5710
srosa@cancer.org