Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave Radio Address
  October 12, 2007

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TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, I’m Marilyn Musgrave, and I have the privilege to represent the citizens of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, located on the High Plains of Eastern Colorado.

We are now nearly two weeks into Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time when we come together to build awareness of what is the most lethal form of cancer for women in the world.

This is an illness that shows itself in subtle form – usually through some small lump – and diagnoses are often delivered only after several rounds of tests and days of waiting to hear back.

So goes the uneasy calm that the 1 in every 8 women in the U.S. who are struck by breast cancer experience before beginning the fight of their lives.

That was the case for a dear friend and colleague of mine, Jo Ann Davis, a Congresswoman from Virginia, who was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over two years ago.

At the time, Jo Ann’s life story was already an extraordinary tale. She grew up on Virginia’s Eastern Shore the daughter of a city bus driver, had no college degree, and went on to became Virginia’s first female Republican in Congress, not to mention the chairwoman of a powerful House intelligence subcommittee on terrorism.

Risk-taker and pioneer that she was, Jo Ann chose to continue serving the Commonwealth and the country she loved while waging a very courageous, very public battle with cancer.

She remained dedicated to her work – every time a round of chemotherapy caused her to miss a vote on the House floor, she would fume – and in July of 2006, her cancer was totally gone and she had a clean bill of health.

But as too often tragically happens, Jo Ann’s cancer returned this past March, and this time, for good. Last Saturday morning, Jo Ann passed away, becoming one of the 40,000 women in the U.S. who will lose their lives to breast cancer this year.

Jo Ann’s passing comes at a critical moment in our efforts to beat back this disease. Though the best efforts of our scientists, doctors, and activists have resulted in the odds of surviving going up, we have actually found that women are getting screened less than they were at the beginning of the decade.

This is a trend that we cannot allow to continue. After all, the American Cancer Society reports a 5-year survival rate of 98% to 100% after treatment for breast cancer discovered in its earliest stage, before symptoms start to develop.

So I urge you to do your part, to make sure you and your loved ones have gone for a mammogram in the last six months, and if you or they have not, to go at once. Early detection is the most powerful weapon we have in this battle.

Behind Jo Ann’s desk, she proudly displayed a sash given to her by the American Cancer Society. It bore a single word in bold letters: SURVIVOR.

Today, Jo Ann – such a good and faithful servant to God and country – is survived by not only the family and friends who will always honor her memory, but by the hope she instilled in all of us and the belief that we will one day break through this most unforgiving of glass ceilings.

Thank you for listening.