Keicher proposes Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Illinois

SYCAMORE – State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, recently proposed a bill that would designate Oct. 13 as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and according to a news release a Hampshire constituent was his inspiration.

Keicher proposes Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Illinois

Lisa Mayer of Hampshire has been fighting metastatic breast cancer for seven years, according to the release, and Keicher said she is the reason he submitted House Resolution 368 last month.

“Lisa’s journey with metastatic breast cancer has been marked by courage, hope, and unwavering spirit,” Keicher said in a news release. “I hope our effort in the Illinois House of Representatives to raise awareness can be a spark of hope to all those battling this disease as they navigate treatments, side effects, and uncertainties.”

Making Oct. 13 Metastatic Breast Cancer Day means the awareness day would occur during national Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer in women is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, and has the second highest death rate.

Breast cancer is treatable if caught early, but metastatic breast cancer – where the cancer spreads throughout the body – remains among the deadliest forms of the disease.

“Breast cancer is a formidable adversary that affects millions of people a year throughout our state, country, and world,” Keicher said in the release. “Metastatic breast cancer, in particular, presents unique challenges, as it represents the stage of the disease where cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, often making it more difficult to treat.”

Keicher’s bill to raise awareness to metastatic breast cancer was referred to the Illinois General Assembly Rules Committee on Oct. 24.

In 2020, 9,838 Illinois women were diagnosed with breast cancer, but Mayer wasn’t one of them. She’d already been fighting cancer for a few years, and continues to this day.

“Thank you to [state] Rep. Jeff Keicher for bringing HR 368 forward in Springfield,” Mayer said in the release. “This resolution brings awareness to metastatic breast cancer and the hope for so many of us with this incurable cancer.”