WHEREAS, Breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 281,550 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 43,600 will die with this malignancy in 2022; and

WHEREAS, Triple-negative breast cancer is one of many forms of breast cancer and accounts for about 15 to 30 percent of all diagnosed invasive breast cancer cases in the United States; and

WHEREAS, More than 53,700 new breast cancer cases in 2019 in the United States were triple-negative breast cancer with higher prevalence among younger women, Black and Hispanic women, women with type 2 diabetes or carrying excess weight in the abdomen area, and women with breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) mutations; and

WHEREAS, Due to its aggressive behavior, triple-negative breast cancer grows quickly and is more likely to have spread at the time it is found and is more likely to come back after treatment than other types of breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, People diagnosed with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer have a less than 30 percent chance of surviving past five years; and

WHEREAS, Triple-negative breast cancer cells do not contain three key receptors that medicines typically target in other types of breast cancers. As a result, there are limited treatment options that can be used to treat the cancer; and

WHEREAS, Patients with an early diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer can often be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. However, the limited therapies available specifically addressing the management of triple-negative breast cancer has made treating this disease a challenge for clinicians; and

WHEREAS, Recent innovation in targeted therapies have fueled advances in the fight against triple-negative breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, Studies have shown that triple-negative breast cancer disease-specific mortality rates are often higher for patients who have Medicaid or Medicare or are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Further, compared with non-Hispanic white women, Black women are 48 percent less likely to receive guideline-adherent care and have an approximate two-fold higher mortality incidence, resulting in a disproportionately higher risk of death from triple-negative breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, Advances in breast cancer screening and treatment over the last few decades have reduced the overall breast cancer mortality rate, yet the disproportionate impact of triple-negative breast cancer on racial and ethnic minority communities raises considerations about the underlying determinants driving the disparities; and

WHEREAS, It is necessary to promote triple-negative breast cancer education, raise awareness about the disease-related disparities, and tackle inequities within health care delivery, including inadequate access to screening, diagnostic testing, and care, in order to improve early detection and survival; and

WHEREAS, Additional legislative provisions should be examined to safeguard affordable, continuous, and equitable patient access to triple-negative breast-cancer-related care, services, and medicines along the entire continuum of care; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature supports health promotion initiatives that target underserved communities disproportionately impacted by triple-negative breast cancer and that promote cultural sensitivity and workforce diversity policies in health care provider training and guarantee timely patient access to clinically appropriate treatment options identified in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines; now, therefore, be it