BREAST CANCER STAMP RAISES AWARENESS AND FUNDS.

Byline: Dianne Feinstein 

TODAY we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp.

This innovative stamp is the first of its kind in our nation's history that is dedicated to raising funds for a special cause. The stamp costs 40 cents, with 7 cents devoted to important breast cancer research programs.

To date, more than 40 million stamps have been sold nationally. That's $8 million raised for research. In terms of scientific progress, the money is enough to fund the laboratory work of roughly 39 cancer researchers for one year to help find a cure for a disease that afflicts more than 2 million Americans.

Californians have contributed $1.4 million to research, or 22 percent of the total raised nationally.

If all the stamps printed by the U.S. Postal Service over the next year are sold, we can raise over $16 million for research. And when all are sold, the Postal Service promises to print more.

The stamp was the brainchild of Dr. Ernie Bodai, a Sacramento surgeon and oncologist who has treated thousands of women for the disease. The idea came to him while writing holiday cards a few years ago. Ernie then teamed with Betsy Mullen, a tenacious 33-year-old breast cancer survivor, to lobby Congress on behalf of the stamp. After two years, this idea became a reality, which I was proud to sponsor in the U.S. Senate.

The stamp has gotten support from the White House, breast cancer survivors, celebrities and corporate America. It gives the average citizen an easy opportunity to contribute to a good cause.

Not only is this stamp raising funds to fight a disease that afflicts one in eight women, it is also raising awareness about the disease itself. This stamp says to people that further research dollars are needed to conquer breast cancer, while at the same time raising the awareness that breast cancer is a real threat.

Today, too many women do not get breast cancer screenings. Of the more than 2 million Americans living with breast cancer today, 1 million do not know it yet. Since early detection represents the key to recovery, I hope this stamp will remind every woman to make an appointment today for the 10-minute test.

Breast cancer now claims the life of a woman every 12 minutes. It's the leading killer of women between the ages of 35 and 55 - women in the prime of their lives.

Even though Congress has raised breast cancer research funding by 600 percent since 1990, additional funding is still desperately needed. Sadly, Americans now spend more on candles and candle accessories than on all research by the National Cancer Institute.

In 1998, the National Cancer Institute could only fund 30 percent of research grant applications - a decline of 60 percent since the 1970s.

In light of that, breakthroughs in cancer research have turned more and more people into cancer survivors than cancer victims. According to the American Association for Cancer Research, 8 million people are alive today because of cancer research. The bottom line is that every dollar we can raise will save lives.

Unfortunately, each and every one of us has had a family member or friend who has been ravaged by breast cancer. I, for one, am tired of losing loved ones and friends to this terrible disease.

As Karen Hauser from Columbus, Ohio, said, ``The stamps are beautiful. I'll continue to buy them as long as they are available. I can't give $100,000 to research, but I use stamps every day.''

I could not agree more. All Americans can now do something actively and personally to help this cause by purchasing these stamps. Let's make the second year of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp even more successful than the first.

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Photo: no caption (postage stamp)