By State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper)
Each year, thousands of Hoosiers are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Whether you have been diagnosed with it yourself, or have a loved one fighting the disease, we have all been impacted by cancer in some way.
That's why this year I sponsored House Enrolled Act 1453, a bill that creates grant programs for pediatric cancer and breast cancer research and treatment.
According to the Indiana Department of Health, there were, on average, more than 5,100 diagnoses of breast cancer each year between 2015 and 2019. The state also reported more than 300 new cases of pediatric cancer each year in Hoosier children between 0 and 19 from 2016 to 2020.
Sadly, about 870 Hoosiers died from breast cancer each year between 2015 and 2019 and more than 30 children died from cancer each year from 2016 to 2020.
Early detection is important to increase survival rates amongst cancer patients, and I hope that in the future House Enrolled Act 1453 will help bring even more awareness of the disease.
This bill received unanimous support from the General Assembly this year and was recently ceremonially signed by the governor.
I look forward to seeing the impacts this legislation has on the lives of Hoosiers across the state and continue to pray that we can one day find a cure for cancer.
As always, constituents can reach out to me with any questions or concerns by email at s48@iga.in.gov or by phone at 1-800-382-9467.
-30-
State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48,
which includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
