Health care comment causes stir

BATAVIA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A statement by Congressional Candidate Chris Collins to an area news source has caused a stir. Tuesday, websites that focus on local, state wide and national news are featuring Collins ' comment. 

According to The Batavian , Collins spoke about his desire to repeal the health care law. In the interview, Collins said that health care is better today, because of developments that didn’t exist 10 years ago. In the interview, the Batavian quotes Collins as saying “People now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some other things.”

Collins’ opponent Congresswoman Kathy Hochul released a statement on the issue:

“Chris Collins has demonstrated a stunning lack of sensitivity by saying, ‘people now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer, and some of the other things.’ Tragically, nearly 70,000 people will die this year from these two types of cancer alone. We can disagree about public policy without making these kinds of outrageous and offensive statements."

Collins released this statement:

"As the brother of a breast cancer survivor, I am grateful for the medical advances that saved my sisters life, which would not have been possible a generation ago. I find it troubling that Kathy Hochul would politicize the seriousness of cancer. One of the reasons I am running for Congress is to make sure that we put a stop to the Hochul/Obama plan to put government bureaucrats in between doctors and  patients like my sister.”