Marcia Cross Lobbies Congress Over Mastectomies

WASHINGTON — The Hollywood writers strike shuttered production on ABC's "Desperate Housewives," but Marcia Cross hasn't been spending her downtime holed up inside.

The 45-year-old actress was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, lobbying Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007 to end "drive-through" mastectomies for women forced to leave the hospital hours after surgery.

Cross is campaigning to give women the choice to recuperate for at least 48 hours following a mastectomy. She was joined by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Lifetime network executive Meredith Wagner.

Lifetime has collected more than 20 million signatures for the petition on its Web site, according to the network.

"It's such a simple bill that it's hard for me to understand why it's been languishing in Congress for 10 years," Cross said Wednesday. "When they told me about it, I just said, `What's the problem?'"

Cross has several friends who survived breast cancer, and said she can't imagine how someone can go home the same day after losing one or both breasts.

"I tried to imagine losing a foot and then (people) saying, `OK, now go home.' ... It's just really unfathomable," she said.

She said she thinks the bill will finally pass.

"I feel very optimistic that maybe that Congress has shifted a bit, that health care is more in the forefront, that maybe, you know, this is the moment," she said.

___

The Lifetime network is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a joint venture of The Hearst Corp. and The Walt Disney Co.

___

Lifetime:

http://www.mylifetime.com/

ABC:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/

Comments

[HedgeApple]

02:07 PM on 01/25/2008

I applaud Marcia Cross' stance on this issue and give her mad props for paying attention in the first place.
Lopping off a woman's breast and sending her home the same day is inhumane. It's major surgery and post-surgical care and monitoring require more than what can be dealt with at home.
Let's hope that bill passes.

[shaunmarie]

11:13 AM on 01/25/2008

My mother had a 'drive by mastectomy' -

There is a reason for these, and they do not have anything to do with the hospitals being chislers....

Hospitals are FILTHY. They are full of staph infection, bacteria - etc, and they would prefer not to expose people who can go home to secondary infections.

[mkam39]

10:10 AM on 01/25/2008

I was one of those women who had "drive by mastectomies." I was fortunate to have friends who took me home and stayed with me that first day. I was so drugged that I could not have coped by myself. I do remember the doctor telling me I could go back to work in 3 days, and there would be very little pain. What a joke! There was pain, and I had drainage tubes that needed draining quite often. I worked in an elementary school. Two weeks later, the doctor said tests indicated the cancer had spread...so back for another surgery. I had three surgeries in two months - all drive- by. Frankly, I do not remember much about those months except trying to take care of the drainage, weakness, and woozy feelings.

Needless to say, I support Sen Landrieu's bill, and appreciate the efforts of all who have fought to bring this problem to the attention of those who can do something. The insurance companies care only for their profits.

I am now cancer free, and hope that women who face the surgery in the future will be able to get proper care before being sent home to fend for themselves.

[adc]

09:53 AM on 01/25/2008

I agree with Marcia. I think there ought to be Federal subsidies for boobs. All Federally approved boob jobs can be labeled Grade A, B, C, etc. - depending on cup size. The USDA can then stamped each Federally approved boob to ensure it's safety. We can call it: The 2008 No Boob Left Behind Act. I'm sure Ted Kennedy will sponsor it.