U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) launched a bipartisan push to sound the alarm with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on the challenges veterans face when seeking mammogram services, key medical examinations that help detect early signs of breast cancer.

Senators Blackburn, Ossoff and Lummis, along with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), are calling on the VA to put more resources toward expanding access to mobile mammography units, improving advanced mammography equipment, and enhancing outreach services to better publicize mammography services.

“Access to screening for breast cancer saves lives. No veteran should have to wait for months, drive for hours, or wade through red tape to get a mammogram when they need one,” the Senators wrote. “We must prioritize mammography services and ensure that every veteran has access to the comprehensive care they need across our country, including the regular mammograms that are a critical component of women’s medical care.”

BACKGROUND:

According to the National Library of Medicine, female veterans were nearly three times more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than the rest of the population.

According to the VA, in 2020, there were more than 47,000 female veterans in Tennessee.

The full letter can be found here.

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