[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  GYNECOLOGICAL RESOLUTION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF OVARIAN CANCER EDUCATION

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                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 7, 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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