WASSERMAN SCHULTZ RECEIVES BETTY FORD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM SUSAN G. KOMEN

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) was honored by Susan G. Komen with its Betty Ford Lifetime Achievement Award at its ‘Honoring the Promise’ gala last night at the Kennedy Center.

“It is truly special to receive an award named for a woman who reduced stigmas by publicly talking about her own battle against breast cancer at a time when it was considered inappropriate to do so, thereby helping other women know that they were not alone and helping start an important national conversation. I thank Susan G. Komen for this incredible honor and for their leadership in fighting breast cancer,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz said.

After being diagnosed at age 41 and undergoing seven surgeries, Wasserman Schultz has now been cancer free for more than five years. Once she recovered, some of her advocacy efforts included authoring legislation to help young women better detect and fight the disease — which became law as part of the Affordable Care Act – and co-founding an annual women’s softball game to raise resources for young survivors.

The Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or The EARLY Act, had 378 bipartisan cosponsors and created an education and outreach campaign administered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to highlight the breast cancer risks facing young women and women of higher-risk ethnic and racial backgrounds, while empowering them with the tools they need to fight the disease. The EARLY Act also targets health care providers with education and information to ensure they are better equipped to catch breast cancer in young women.

“Once I recovered from my own battle against the disease, I knew I had to translate that experience into action by writing legislation with a simple premise: knowledge is power. I am so thankful that the EARLY Act became law and has already delivered results. I look forward to continuing working with Komen and the wide community of survivors and volunteers, where I am confident we will continue to make inroads to detect the disease earlier and increase survivorship,” Wasserman Schultz said.

“We are delighted to honor the contributions made by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the fight against to breast cancer,” said Judith A. Salerno, M.D., M.S., president and CEO of Susan G. Komen. “She has not only raised the issue of breast cancer in younger women but sponsored and successfully passed legislation to educate and assist these women who are often overlooked.”

The gala also included an award for David Rubenstein for his philanthropic support of research and health education, and was emceed by television personality and breast cancer survivor Joan Lunden.

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About the Betty Ford Lifetime Achievement Award
The award, initially called the Lifetime Achievement Award, was first given out in 2011 to Betty Ford, whose courage in disclosing her breast cancer diagnosis in 1974 opened the national conversation about the leading cancer killer of women worldwide. That year, Komen founder Nancy G. Brinker presented the award to Mrs. Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, who accepted it on behalf of her mother. Since then, the award as been renamed The Betty Ford Lifetime Achievement Award and given to Sen. Olympia Snowe (2012) and Victoria Reggie Kennedy and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (2013).