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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today introduced the Women and Lung Cancer Preventative Services Act, which will encourage more research into the prevention and treatment of lung cancer in women, and require federal agencies to evaluate and report their findings to Congress.
 
“Lung cancer disproportionately affects women and is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Despite the dramatic impact this has on the women of Florida and across the country, there is a lack of research into why there is this disparate, particularly amongst women non-smokers,” said Senator Rubio. “This bill is a positive step in the battle against lung cancer. It will encourage more research into why lung cancer disproportionately impacts women so we can develop better prevention and treatment tools and have a better understanding of the disease as a whole.”
 
“Lung cancer kills more women each year than any other cancer. This year, 70,500 women will lose their lives to this disease. While we know the key risk factors, many questions remain,” said Senator Feinstein. “For example, lung cancer has been found in far more women who don’t smoke than in men who don’t smoke, and we have no idea why. This bill will strengthen our efforts to reduce lung cancer and improve patient outcomes.”

“This legislation better positions us to learn more about the number one cancer killer and how it behaves in women so that we can more effectively decrease the overall impact of the disease,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, President and CEO of Lung Cancer Alliance. “We greatly value the steady, bipartisanship shown by these Senate leaders to tackle this women’s health imperative.”
 
A PDF of the legislation is available here.