Senate Resolution No. 568

BY: Senator HINCHEY

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
March as Triple Negative Breast Cancer Awareness
Month in the State of New York

WHEREAS, Breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancer
and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United
States; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 287,850 women will be diagnosed with breast
cancer and over 43,000 will die with this malignancy in 2023; and

WHEREAS, Triple Negative Breast Cancer is one of many forms of
breast cancer and accounts for about 15-20% of all diagnosed invasive
breast cancer cases in the United States; and

WHEREAS, More than 53,700 new breast cancer cases in 2019 in the
United States were Triple Negative Breast Cancer, with higher prevalence
among younger women, Black and Hispanic women, women with type 2
diabetes or carrying excess weight in the abdomen area, and those with
BRCA1 mutations; and

WHEREAS, Due to its aggressive behavior, Triple Negative Breast
Cancer grows quickly and is more likely to have spread at the time it is
found and is more likely to come back after treatment than other types
of breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, People diagnosed with metastatic Triple Negative Breast
Cancer have a less than 30% chance of surviving past five years; and

WHEREAS, Triple Negative Breast Cancer cells do not contain (are
"negative for") three key receptors that medicines typically target in
other types of breast cancers; therefore, there are limited treatment
options that can be used to treat the cancer; and

WHEREAS, Patients with an early diagnosis can often be treated with
chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery; however, the limited therapies
available specifically addressing the management of Triple Negative
Breast Cancer has made treating this disease a challenge for clinicians;
and

WHEREAS, Recent innovation in targeted therapies have fueled
advances in the fight against Triple Negative Breast Cancer; and

WHEREAS, Studies have shown that Triple Negative Breast Cancer
disease-specific mortality rates are often higher if patients have
Medicaid or Medicare or are lower socio-economic status; compared with
non-Hispanic white women, Black women are 48% less likely to receive
guideline adherent care and have an approximate twofold higher mortality
rate, resulting in a disproportionately higher risk of death from Triple
Negative Breast Cancer; and

WHEREAS, Advances in breast cancer screening and treatment over the
last few decades have reduced the overall breast cancer mortality rate,

yet the disproportionate impact of Triple Negative Breast Cancer on
racial and ethnic minority communities raises considerations about the
underlying determinants driving the disparities; and

WHEREAS, It is necessary to promote Triple Negative Breast Cancer
education, raise awareness about the disease-related disparities, and
tackle inequities within the health care delivery such as inadequate
access to screening, diagnostic testing, and care, to improve early
detection and survival; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim March as Triple Negative
Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.