Gynecological Resolution for Advancement of Ovarian Cancer Education

GYNECOLOGICAL RESOLUTION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF OVARIAN CANCER EDUCATION -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 08, 2005)

* Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Texas for his leadership on this important issue. Nineteen years ago, I learned for myself the deadly toll ovarian cancer can take. Back then, I knew little about these diseases. But then I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during an unrelated doctor's visit. I was fortunate to have excellent doctors who detected the cancer by accident in Stage 1 and underwent radiation treatment for the next two-and-a-half months. I am proud to say that I have now been cancer-free for 19 years.

* I was lucky--lucky that my life was given back to me. But of course, my life was changed at the same time. We all hope to see the day when cancer is prevented and no one has to go through what I and so many others have endured. When it comes to life and death, no one should have to depend on luck.

* And frankly, we are asking 25,000 women a year to do just that. As we commemorate the first National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, we do so with the understanding that more than 25,000 women are diagnosed every year with ovarian cancer--1 out of every 57 women. 16,000 of those women will die simply because the disease is not detected until it has reached an advanced stage.

* The tragedy of it all is that ovarian cancer can be cured if it is detected soon enough. When detected in the early stages, more than 94 percent of women survive longer than 5 years, and most are cured completely. The problem is simply that women have never had a reliable, accurate method of screening for ovarian cancer in the early stages.

* But that may be changing. Today, researchers are on the cusp of a breakthrough, of giving real hope to women who might otherwise not be diagnosed until it is too late. And our investment in ovarian cancer research is paying dividends, which is why we must keep fighting to make sure that ovarian cancer grants at the National Institutes of Health are fully funded. With 25,000 lives on the line every year, we can ill afford any setbacks in our work to find potential screening tools and treatments for this deadly disease.

* Mr. Speaker, providing hope to women across the country is what that investment is about--highlighting the need to make that hope a reality is what this resolution is about. It is my privilege to support it.

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