[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 177 (Wednesday, December 2, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2872]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR GREATER AWARENESS OF OVARIAN CANCER

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 1, 2009

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for 
H. Res. 727, emphasizing the need for greater awareness about ovarian 
cancer and adopting the goals and ideals established by National 
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Having lost my wife of 36 years, 
Jeanne, to ovarian cancer in 2004, I am acutely sensitive to the need 
for reliable early detection programs and effective treatments for late 
stage ovarian cancer. I am not alone in having lost a loved one to this 
disease--ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic cancers, 
affecting over 20,000 women a year. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading 
cause of cancer death in women, killing nearly 55 percent of those 
diagnosed within the first 5 years. Despite this tragically high toll, 
we still remain woefully ignorant of proper prevention strategies for 
ovarian cancer, and have yet to develop a reliable early detection 
program.
  While over 90 percent of ovarian cancer cases can be prevented with 
early screening and treatment, many women remain unaware of their risk 
factors and the early symptoms of ovarian cancer are particularly 
difficult to accurately diagnose. Because of this, 75 percent of 
ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages where it is 
often too late to prevent the cancer's spread. Awareness and early 
recognition are the best way to save women's lives.
  Congress is making some effort to address the inadequacies in our 
current system. For example, in November 2005, the House passed the 
Gynecological Resolution for the Advancement of Ovarian Cancer 
Education in a bipartisan effort to increase the public's understanding 
of this deadly disease. The President and nonprofit advocacy groups are 
also engaged in educating the public. President Obama proclaimed 
September National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and throughout 
September, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance held hundreds of events 
across the country to inform women about the importance of gynecologic 
exams, and to teach them about the warning signs of ovarian cancer.
  Better education, more funding for research, and increased awareness 
efforts are critical to ensuring that we reduce infection and mortality 
rates for ovarian cancer in women. I urge my colleagues to continue our 
efforts to increase research funding to cure ovarian cancer and support 
public outreach programs on the prevention and treatment of 
gynecological cancers.

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