New website: Here's a great e-source for breast-cancer survivors

One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Also, according to a website called Breast cancer: Tips for families; facts, figures:

• More than 230,400 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women here in 2011.
• More than 2,100 American men will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
• More than 39,900 women and more than 400 men will fall victim to this killer this year here in the United States.

People who've been diagnosed with breast cancer can tap into a big variety of educational links and other helpful details featured at another excellent website newly up and running. Sponsored by the Pink Lemonade Project, this new e-source covers information on a range of insurance rights and reconstruction options for breast-cancer survivors. All too often patients aren't provided with info about alternatives for breast reconstruction. They may not even be informed that their insurance provides coverage for reconstruction, for instance, as well as mastectomies.

Legislation was discussed in the 2011 session that would go a long way toward providing patients with information on options for breast reconstruction. The measure was sponsored by state Rep. Jim Moeller. Although the bill survived Republican objections to win House Health Care & Wellness Committee approval, it was stuck in the House Rules Committee when the legislative session adjourned.

Moeller has pointed out that, "Washington has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in our whole country. We need to be sensitive to the fact that having a mastectomy has both physical and psychological impacts on patients. Insurers are required to cover not only mastectomies, but also breast reconstruction."

A Vancouver newspaper item about the new website can be found here.