PORTLAND, Ore. - As a young woman, I'm constantly aware of the risk of breast cancer. It's hard not to be. The pink ribbons, the hundreds of fundraising events each year and the startling statistics all serve as a reminder that breast cancer - despite recent gains - remains a major threat to women everywhere.
According to the American Cancer Society, 192,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Five thousand women this week alone will join the ranks of those valiantly struggling against the disease.
Some of those women will emerge as survivors, but far too many others - 46,600 this year alone - will not. With the millions of women already touched by this disease firmly in our minds and hearts, we must vow to continue the fight until there is a cure. The statistics are dreadful and staggering:
Today, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among American women age 20 to 59. Every two minutes a woman somewhere in our country finds out that she is the newest member of a club that no one wants to join.
Young women often think they are immune. But this invasive disease does not discriminate - every woman is a potential target.
As Miss America 2002, my goal is to educate all women on ways to prevent breast cancer - and, if need be, how to survive it.
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With the resources now available and those advancing in the pharmaceutical pipeline, we can significantly reduce and, we hope, someday eliminate its tragic death toll.
I often think of my girlfriends and all the possibilities that the future has to offer each one. While I know there are parts of life that we cannot control, I'm also convinced that medical breakthroughs and increased public awareness will lead us to a day when breast cancer will be eliminated.
My hope is heightened by the knowledge that 58 new breast cancer drugs are being studied and tested in pharmaceutical laboratories this year alone. Many of them will alleviate suffering and reduce complications. And maybe, just maybe, one of them will be the cure.
Until then, we, as a community, can educate ourselves on the disease. We must be proactive in fighting breast cancer - serving as each other's reminders to examine our breasts each month. We must mobilize the resources that we have and support those women who are battling breast cancer every day of their lives.
Together we can fight this battle. We have the resources and most important, we have the will.
For now, I am just one more person trying to do her part so that one day we will no longer have to fear that we, or our loved ones, will become a victim of breast cancer. I fervently hope that you - and every other American - will join me in that quest.
by Katie Harman
Knight Ridder-Tribune Columnist
Katie Harman, 21, majors in speech communications and vocal performance at Portland State University and is the reigning Miss America for 2002.
