Media Credit: Bruno Morlan Texas first lady Anita Perry speaks about breast cancer awareness at the Capitol steps Tuesday.

After moving to the U.S. from Puerto Rico in 2003, Ana Sierra missed her annual mammogram because of her inability to pay.

Through emergency Medicaid she was able to get the test, which came back positive. She then sought out support from Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a grassroots network for breast cancer survivors and activists.

One out of every eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Gov. Rick Perry proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Texas on Oct. 1. On Tuesday, first lady Anita Perry kicked off the celebration with an event honoring breast cancer patients and survivors on the steps of the state Capitol.

The first lady was accompanied by Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Grapevine, to commemorate the event.

"We are gathered to address something that touches thousands of women in Texas," Lakey said.

It is estimated that 15,122 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,717 women will die of breast cancer this year in Texas, according to Texas health services.

Lakey stressed the value of early detection, calling it "critically important." Lakey added that breast cancer is a common disease but can be very treatable when diagnosed early. Women over the age of 40 should receive an annual breast exam, and women younger should follow up with physicals and breast exams every three years, he said.

Anita Perry said that women need annual mammograms.

"Early detection is the closest thing we have to a cure," she said.

Nelson discussed the addition of Proposition 15 to the Nov. 6 ballot. Proposition 15 will supply

$3 billion for cancer prevention and research over the next 10 years, she said.

"We are declaring war against the most notorious killer of all time," Nelson said.

Sarah Silva, another breast cancer survivor, was a certified nurse-aid who first detected a lump on her breast during a self-exam in October 2004. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation between December 2004 and May 2005, she was able to stand as a healthy woman on the steps of the Capitol.

Sierra said every woman deserves access to health care. She battled breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy for two years and wondered what the illness would leave behind - scars, pain, distress.

"I have scars, but after two years I have been given my second chance. The experience has helped me to find out how much I am loved by my family, friends, doctors and even people I never knew," she said.

Sierra addressed the audience with a backdrop of breast cancer survivors holding pink and orange roses behind her.

"I never questioned my destiny," she said. "I never felt alone."

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