[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 92 (Thursday, June 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE GYNECOLOGIC CANCER EDUCATION AND AWARENESS ACT OF 
                                  2009

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                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 18, 2009

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Gynecologic 
Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2009: a lifesaving, bipartisan 
bill to reauthorize Johanna's Law, a national awareness program to 
educate women about the symptoms, risk factors, and prevention of 
gynecologic cancers such as ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers.
  Every hour, approximately 10 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with a 
gynecologic cancer such as ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancers. Each 
year, we lose over 26,000 of our mothers, sisters, daughters and 
friends to one of these terrible cancers. This is a tragedy. Research 
shows that many of those deaths could be prevented if more women knew 
the risk factors and recognized the early symptoms of gynecologic 
cancers so that they could discuss them with their doctors. Ovarian 
cancer has a 90 percent survival rate if detected in Stage One and only 
a 20 percent survival rate if detected in Stage Three or Four.
  That is why, in December 2006, Congress passed the Gynecologic Cancer 
Education and Awareness Act--also known as Johanna's Law, named for 
Johanna Silver Gordon, a dynamic and dedicated public school teacher, a 
loving and beloved mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. Despite 
being a health conscious woman who visited the gynecologist regularly 
for pelvic exams and PAP smears, Johanna was blindsided by a late stage 
diagnosis of ovarian cancer--learning only after her diagnosis that the 
symptoms she had been experiencing were common symptoms of ovarian 
cancer, not those of a minor gastrointestinal problem, as she'd 
assumed. Sadly, despite multiple surgeries and aggressive chemotherapy, 
3\1/2\ years after her diagnosis, Johanna lost her life to ovarian 
cancer. Determined not to allow Johanna's death to be in vain, 
Johanna's sister Sheryl Silver proposed Johanna's Law.
  This bill provides for an education campaign led by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention to increase the awareness and knowledge 
of health care providers and women with respect to gynecological 
cancers. The program has been funded for the past two years, allowing 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin a national 
awareness campaign about the signs and symptoms of gynecologic cancers.
  In order to continue and build on these important efforts, the 
Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2009 will reauthorize 
the CDC's awareness campaign and create a new grant program to support 
non-profit organizations in carrying out complementary education and 
awareness campaigns that extend the reach of the CDC's work. The bill 
enjoys the support of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA), the 
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC), the Society of Gynecologic 
Oncologists (SGO), the Alliance for Women's Cancer Awareness, Society 
of Gynecologic Nurse Oncologists (SGNO), Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, 
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE), CONVERSATIONS: The 
International Ovarian Cancer Connection, the Cancer Awareness Team for 
Ovarian Cancer (Ohio), CanSurvive Support Group, UAB Gyn-Oncology 
(Alabama), Capitol Ovarian Cancer Coalition (COCO) (Kentucky), Colorado 
Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance, Nine Girls 
Ask (California), OASIS of Southern California, Ovacome United States 
(Florida), Ovarian and Breast Cancer Alliance of Washington State, 
Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Arizona, Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Greater 
California, Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington, 
Ovarian Cancer Orange County Alliance, Ovar'Coming Together (Indiana), 
Ovarian Awareness of Kentucky, Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation 
(Pennsylvania), Space Coast Ovarian/Gynecologic Cancer Alliance 
(Florida), and the Women's Cancer Awareness Group (California).
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to move swiftly to 
ensure that women have the lifesaving information they need about 
gynecologic cancers.-

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