LANSING – The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005 has been generating new awareness at the national level as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Sponsors of the legislation are trying to solve the problem of "Drive-Through Mastectomies.” Right now, some women are forced to go home just hours after surgery - against the wishes of their doctors - while they’re still groggy from anesthesia because their health insurance won’t cover their hospital stay.

The proposal would prohibit health care providers from limiting hospital stays after mastectomies or other breast surgeries.

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act currently before Congress, has 17 co-sponsors from the Senate and 179 from the House of Representatives. Rep. Bart Stupak, D - Alpena, and Rep. John Dingell, D - Monroe, are among the eight Michigan co-sponsors.

“Medical professionals agree that a hospital stay provides critical support for a breast cancer patient's recovery. Unfortunately, each year thousands of women are discharged following mastectomies without sufficient time for recovery,” said Stupak in a statement released by his Washington D.C. Office.

“Women and their health care providers should set the standard of care for treating their breast cancer effectively, not insurance companies. This important legislation will help ensure breast cancer survivors receive appropriate levels of care."

There are twenty states have enacted laws to require a minimum length of stay to discourage the practice of drive-through mastectomies. Michigan is not one of them. If this bill is passed at the federal level, all states would be required to meet the same provisions.

If a decision is not made during the current session of Congress, the bill would have to be reintroduced to the newly elected members in January.

The American Cancer Society supports this bill.

"We need to do what's right for the patient," said Steve Konsbors, director of the American Cancer Society's East Lansing area office. "The doctor knows what is right, not the insurance companies. And that's really what we fight with all the time, is insurance companies making decisions that health professionals should be making."

The Lifetime television network is also promoting the bill by airing public service announcements and supplying information and a petition that supporters can sign on its Web site.

Breast cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Michigan women, and also the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Michigan women, according to the American Cancer Society.

The Cancer Society estimates that 7,070 Michigan women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, 1,360 of them are expected to die from the disease.

The organization recommends that women begin getting mammograms annually at the age of 40 and beyond.

“The fact of the matter is, if it is diagnosed early enough, if it is diagnosed in stage one, breast cancer is 98 percent survivable,” said Konsbors.