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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Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1245, `Johanna's Law' or the ``Gynecological Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005.'' I want to thank Chairman Nathan Deal and Chairman Joe Barton, and the Energy and Commerce Committee staff, for bringing this bill to the floor today. I also want to thank my colleagues, Representative Darryl Issa and Representative Sander Levin, the lead sponsors of this bill, who have worked so tirelessly for over two years to guide this bill through the legislative process. I want to thank the 257 House Members and 42 Senators, Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal, who co-sponsored this critically needed bi-partisan legislation.

I also want to congratulate Ms. Sheryl Silver, the architect of this bill. Sheryl's sister Johanna Silver Gordon (who this bill is named after) died after her battle with ovarian cancer in 2000; and Sheryl found the will and the strength to turn her personal tragedy into a passionate crusade to help make sure that other women will not die needlessly from gynecological cancers.

And last but by no means least; I want to thank Ms. Kolleen Stacy, a constituent of mine and a dear friend who is currently fighting her own personal battle with ovarian cancer. Kolleen first brought this bill to my attention and once told me that her most fervent wish was to live long enough to see this bill signed into law. Today, thanks to the efforts of so many, we take a huge step forward towards fulfilling Kolleen's dream. And I would say to her that today's debate is a victory for all women, but in my mind, Kolleen, this is your day.

The word ``cancer'' evokes powerful emotions. Along with many of my colleagues, I know first-hand how devastating cancer can be to the individual who has been diagnosed

as well as their family. Ovarian Cancer for example, is the deadliest of the gynecological cancers, and it is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths among women living in the United States. Each year nearly 80,000 women in this country are diagnosed with a new case of gynecological cancer, and an estimated 28,000 die from these diseases. This is a national tragedy, and what makes it even more tragic is the fact that many of those deaths could have been prevented if more women and their doctors knew the risk factors and recognized the early warning signs of ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancers.

That is why I am such a proud co-sponsor and passionate supporter of Johanna's Law. When it is detected early, ovarian cancer is very treatable, unfortunately, ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose because symptoms are sometimes subtle and may be easily confused with those of other diseases. As a result, only 29-percent of ovarian cancer cases in the U.S. are diagnosed in the early stages. When the disease is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, more than 95-percent of women will survive longer than five years. But, in cases where the disease is not detected until it reaches the advanced stage, the five-year survival rate plummets to a devastating 25-percent.

As there is still no reliable and easy-to-administer screening test for ovarian cancer, like the Pap smear for cervical cancer or the mammogram for breast cancer, early recognition of symptoms is clearly the best way to save a woman's life. Without increased education about ovarian cancer and recognition of women who are at higher risk for developing ovarian cancer, many women and their doctors will continue to ignore or misinterpret the symptoms of the disease. Any woman is at risk for developing a gynecological cancer. We owe it to our mothers, our wives and our daughters to do all we can to both raise awareness of these terrible diseases, and to fund the research necessary to stamp out this kind of cancer once and for all.

Johanna's Law is a giant step forward because for the first time ever, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will have explicit authority to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecological cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecological cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecological cancers with their physicians. The bill also requires the Secretary to study current and past outreach and education activities and then to develop a strategy to improve the way we increase awareness and knowledge of both the public and health care providers with respect to different types of cancer, including gynecological cancer.

I personally think we need to do more to attack this problem, but I am confident that with a national Public Service Announcement campaign describing risk factors and symptoms and encouraging women to talk to their doctors about their risk of gynecological cancers, we can and will increase early detection of these deadly cancers; and, when possible, help women reduce their risk of ever contracting them in the first place.

Johanna's Law is a good bill, it is good public policy. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I urge our colleagues in the Senate to act quickly and move this critically needed legislation to the President's desk for his signature. This is literally a matter of life and death.

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