[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, as many of my colleagues 
hopefully know, September was National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. 
All across the Nation men and women came together for events to both 
raise awareness of this terrible scourge and to show their support for 
the women and families struggling with this horrible disease--the 
deadliest of the gynecologic cancers. For example, September 7, 2007, 
was ``Teal Time''--a day on which millions of Americans nationwide wore 
the official color of ovarian cancer--teal--to raise awareness about 
ovarian cancer.
  While National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month may be over for 2007, 
the fight against ovarian cancer goes on. 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. Increased education and awareness 
about ovarian cancer and recognition of women who are at higher risk 
for developing ovarian cancer, is the only way that women and their 
doctors will be able to stop ignoring or misinterpreting the subtle 
symptoms of the disease. Recently, the American Cancer Society and the 
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance came to a consensus on the 
identifiable symptoms of ovarian cancer, even in the early stages. The 
experts believe if a woman experiences any of the following symptoms 
for at least three weeks--bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, 
difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, frequent or urgent need to 
urinate--she should immediately see her gynecologist.
  I urge all of my colleagues to remember those symptoms and I ask each 
and every one of you to please make a special point of discussing them 
with your mothers, your wives and your daughters; and encourage them to 
talk about these symptoms with other women. The simple fact is that 
ignorance kills. The more women who know what to look for, the more 
lives we can save. If we love our mothers, our wives and our daughters, 
and I am sure that we do, then we owe it to them to make the effort to 
talk with them about ovarian cancer.

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