Hirono Joins Bipartisan Effort to Help More Veterans Access Breast Cancer Screenings

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues in a letter urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address the challenges veterans face when seeking mammogram services, key medical examinations that help detect early signs of breast cancer. In the letter, the lawmakers called upon the VA to put more resources toward expanding access to mobile mammography units, improving advanced mammography equipment, and enhancing outreach services to better publicize mammography services.

“Access to screening for breast cancer saves lives,” wrote the Senators. “No veteran should have to wait for months, drive for hours, or wade through red tape to get a mammogram when they need one. We must prioritize mammography services and ensure that every veteran has access to the comprehensive care they need across our country, including the regular mammograms that are a critical component of women’s medical care.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, female veterans were nearly three times more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than the rest of the population.

In addition to Senator Hirono, the letter was also signed by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Marsha Blackburn (D-TN), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The full text of the letter is available here.

Last June, President Biden signed the Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options (MAMMO) for Veterans Act into law—bipartisan, bicameral legislation introduced by Senators Hirono, Jon Tester (D-MT), John Boozman (R-AR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) to expand veterans’ access to high-quality breast cancer screening and lifesaving cancer care. The MAMMO for Veterans Act requires the VA to develop a strategic plan to improve breast imaging services, create a telemammography pilot program for veterans in areas where VA does not offer in-house mammography, and expand veterans’ access to clinical trials through partnerships with the National Cancer Institute.

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