Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the passage of H.R. 2941, to renew ``Johanna's Law'' to increase public awareness and knowledge of gynecological cancers. I am pleased to have introduced this important bill with Representatives DeLauro, Issa, and Burton. Johanna's Law established a national public information campaign to educate women and health care providers about the risk factors and early warning signs of gynecologic cancers. This bill before the House carries on that important life-saving work by extending funding of Johanna's Law from 2012 to 2014.

The law was named after Michigan resident Johanna Silver Gordon, a loving mother and dedicated public school teacher, who, despite visiting her doctor regularly, was blindsided by a diagnosis of late-stage ovarian cancer, learning only after her diagnosis that the symptoms she had been experiencing were common symptoms of that disease. Despite the best efforts of her physicians, tragically, Johanna lost her life to ovarian cancer 3 1/2 years after being diagnosed.

Johanna's story is far too common. Although it has been 10 years since she died of ovarian cancer, and 4 years since Congress first passed this important legislation, each year over 71,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer and over 26,000 women are lost to one of these serious cancers. Many of those deaths could be prevented if more women knew and recognized the early symptoms of gynecologic cancers and received prompt treatment.

Today we continue to build on the work we began with the passage of the first Johanna's Law 4 years ago. Our best weapon against gynecological cancers is early detection. A woman's chance of survival is dramatically improved when the gynecological cancer is diagnosed early. Ovarian cancer causes more deaths in women than any other gynecological cancer; however, it has a 93 percent survival rate if detected in Stage One, but only a 20 percent survival rate if detected in Stage Three or Four.

Right now, awareness, education, early diagnosis, and treatment are the most effective weapons we have in our war against gynecological cancers. I urge my colleagues to support Johanna's Law so we can prevail in our battle against these terrible cancers that cut short the lives of our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, partners and friends. I urge passage of this very important legislation.

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