WHEREAS, October was first established as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985 to educate the public about breast cancer and the importance of early detection and access to timely, high-quality care; and

WHEREAS, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, in 2020, 1,245 Maine women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 196 died from the disease; and

WHEREAS, regular screenings to detect the disease early when treatment can be most successful saves lives; and

WHEREAS, breast cancer deaths in Maine women have declined due to research breakthroughs and early detection and treatment; and

WHEREAS, recent studies reveal that 73 percent of Maine women aged 40 and older reported a mammogram in the past two years in accordance with nationally accepted guidelines; and

WHEREAS, MaineCare, private health plans, and Medicare in Maine pay for breast and cervical care screenings without cost sharing; and

WHEREAS, if a woman living in Maine does not have a medical provider, health insurance, or is underinsured, she can contact the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Breast and Cervical Health Program at 1-800-350-5180 to see if she qualifies for breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic tests, and possibly treatment for breast and cervical cancer;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim October 2023 as

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

throughout the State of Maine, and I encourage all Maine people to support women in taking charge of their health by getting a breast cancer screening.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this twenty seventh day of September Two Thousand Twenty Three