Bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act Approved by U.S. House of Representatives After Lifetime Collects Nearly 23 Million Online Petition Signatures

Bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act Approved by U.S. House of Representatives After Lifetime Collects Nearly 23 Million Online Petition Signatures

Act Will Abolish 'Drive-Through' Mastectomies

Lifetime and Viewers Urge U.S. Senate to Take Action Quickly

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- With the support of Lifetime Television and at the urging of millions of people who signed a petition on myLifetime.com, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, which would end the practice of "drive-through" mastectomies, when women are forced to leave the hospital within hours of undergoing major breast cancer surgery. The vote was 421-2. The legislation was introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and was sponsored by 223 Representatives from both sides of the aisle. The bill guarantees that the patient and her doctor can make the decision of whether she will go home or stay in the hospital for 48 hours after a mastectomy.

(LOGO: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080804/NYM123LOGO )

The bill does not mandate a 48 hour hospital stay if a patient chooses to go home sooner, nor does it set 48 hours as a maximum amount of time a woman can stay in the hospital. It simply ensures that any decision in favor of a shorter or longer hospital stay will be made by the patient and her doctor, not an insurance company.

Lifetime has been working with members of Congress for 12 years in an effort to pass the legislation. The network has aired PSAs and launched an online petition to urge Congress to pass the Act. Twenty-three million online signatures were collected for the petition. Working with Lifetime, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Jewel and "Desperate Housewives" star Marcia Cross also came to Washington to bring attention to the cause. Both Jewel and Marcia Cross joined other celebrities to appear in television spots and vignettes to urge the ending of "drive-through" mastectomies.

"From the moment we began talking to viewers about the issue of 'drive-through' mastectomies -- 12 long years ago -- we've heard from millions of women that this was indeed a huge problem and they wanted Congress to address it," said Meredith Wagner, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Lifetime Networks. "We're so gratified this bill has passed through the House of Representatives -- now we urge the Senate to act quickly so this legislation can become law. Our deepest gratitude to Representative Rosa DeLauro for bringing this matter to our attention -- and to the many other legislators who have supported this legislation."

Organizations including the American Cancer Society, breastcancer.org, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Families USA, the Oncology Nursing Society, Sisters Network Inc and Susan G. Komen Foundation also support the legislation. One in eight women will eventually develop breast cancer and, according to the National Cancer Institute, more than 182,000 will be diagnosed with the disease this year.

Lifetime's commitment to ending "drive-through" mastectomies is part of the network's annual Stop Breast Cancer for Life public advocacy campaign, now entering its 14th year. The programming centerpiece of this year's campaign is a Lifetime Original Movie, Living Proof, the true story of Dr. Dennis Slamon, the UCLA doctor who developed the life saving breast cancer drug, Herceptin. The movie was executive produced by Academy Award(R) winning actress Renee Zellweger and stars Emmy(R) and Grammy(R) Award winner Harry Connick Jr. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, Executive Producers of the Oscar(R) winning movie, Chicago, joined Zellweger for the Sony Pictures Television project. Living Proof airs on Lifetime on Saturday, October 18th.

ABOUT LIFETIME

LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multimedia company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating on a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080804/NYM123LOGO
PR Newswire Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/

Source: LIFETIME

CONTACT: Kassie Canter, +1-212-484-7497, kcanter@lifetimetv.com

Web Site: http://www.mylifetime.com/
http;//www.breastcancer.org

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