Wallace Encourages Governor to Sign Breast Cancer Screening Expansion
ROCKFORD, Ill. – State Rep. Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford, is urging Gov. Rauner to sign legislation that would require insurance companies to offer additional life-saving breast cancer screenings for at-risk patients.
"Breast cancer impacts individuals and families every day," Wallace said. "Unfortunately, not all health insurance companies offer MRI screenings to at-risk women. We need to ensure that residents in Illinois have access to every life-saving tool available so that cases of cancer are identified and treated as quickly as possible."
If signed into law, Senate Bill 314 would allow more women to receive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screenings in addition to a typical mammogram. While a mammogram is recommended for most women, studies have shown that a supplemental MRI screening can increase detection of breast cancer for women with a strong family history of breast cancer. It does not serve as a replacement for a mammogram, but is considered an important complementary screening tool.
"As a breast cancer survivor, I think it's critically important that life-saving screenings are available to everyone," Rockford resident Sara Dorner said. "Early detection can make the difference between life and death, and is why we need this measure to be signed into law immediately."
For more information, please contact Wallace's constituent service office at 815-987-7433 or at litesa@staterepwallace.com.
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