After a year in release, the breast cancer semipostal stamp issued by the United States Postal Service has raised $7.8 million for research of the disease, the Associated Press reports.

The stamp is the first semipostal stamp sold by the Postal Service. Semipostals cost more than regular stamps, and the extra money collected is given to charity.

The breast cancer stamp, which can be used on first-class mail, costs 40 cents. The 7-cent difference between that price and the normal 33-cent rate goes to breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Department's medical research division.

The Postal Service has been reluctant to release semipostals -- even though they are being used in other countries -- because of the many requests form charities that would follow, AP reports.

In 1997, however, Congress ordered the issuance of the stamp and directed where the money would go. Semipostals are now under consideration in Congress to fight prostate cancer and diabetes.

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