Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005
GYNECOLOGIC CANCER EDUCATION AND AWARENESS ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - November 14, 2006)
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank everyone who has made this legislation such a priority in the Congress, Congressmen ISSA and LEVIN for their leadership, as well as Sheryl Silver for her passion and her tenacity. This bipartisan coalition is a testament to the simple fact that when it comes to life and death, life and death issues like cancer, Congress speaks with one voice. It must.
This is a special moment. Whether it is a family member, a friend, or if you are a survivor yourself, each of us knows the deadly toll that gynecological cancer takes. Twenty years ago I found out for myself when, during an unrelated doctor's visit, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I underwent radiation treatment for 2 1/2 months, and I am proud to say that I have now been cancer-free for 20 years.
But no one should have to depend on luck when it comes to life and death. Right now, almost 21,000 women are diagnosed every year with ovarian cancer, nearly 16,000 of whom will die.
Ovarian cancer claims the lives of nearly three-quarters of women diagnosed simply because the disease is not detected until it has reached an advanced stage. This disease has a 45 percent 5-year survival rate.
The tragedy is that ovarian cancer, like other gynecologic cancers, can be cured if it is detected soon enough. When ovarian cancer is detected in the early stages, 95 percent of women survive longer than 5 years, and most are cured completely. Unfortunately, women have never had a reliable and accurate method of screening for ovarian cancer in the early stages. On top of that, not only do many doctors misdiagnose this disease, but 85 percent of women report they do not know which symptoms to look for.
We have made progress, of course, through research at the NIH, Department of Defense, and with the recent approval of the HPV vaccine. But Johanna's Law recognized something critical, that until we have accurate screening methods, public education is one of the most critical weapons we have toward beating gynecologic cancers like ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer. In creating a Federal campaign to educate women and health care providers alike, as this legislation does, we can take a bold step toward ensuring that women know which symptoms to look for and how to seek help before it is too late.
This legislation has been a long time coming, and to be clear, it represents only a first step. But every inch of progress we make fighting these deadly diseases gets us closer to a cure. And that is a fight that every woman has a stake in, every family has a stake in, a fight the Silver family has dedicated itself to making sure we win.
And so I thank you. I thank you for helping us pass this vital bill and take such an important step forward. I was given a second chance at life. Others should have that same opportunity. It is about time
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