[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2452-2453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 2, 2009

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize January as 
Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Cancer 
Institute, approximately 11,000 women are diagnosed with cervical 
cancer each year in the U.S., resulting in nearly 3,900 deaths. At a 
time when proven prevention tools are available, it is especially 
tragic that any woman should die from this disease, yet cervical cancer 
is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Even for women who 
survive this disease, it often causes a significant emotional burden 
and can lead to early menopause and loss of fertility among women in 
their child-bearing years. And it affects women of all ages: While the 
majority of cervical cancers are detected in women between 35 and 64, 
more than 30 percent of cases are diagnosed in women younger than 34 
and women over 65.
  Despite these sobering statistics, we have made significant progress 
in this country in reducing the burden of cervical cancer. Since the 
mid-20th century, deaths from cervical cancer have declined by an 
estimated 70 percent, due to the Papanicolaou (Pap) screening test. In 
1990, Congress created the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early 
Detection Program to improve timely access to screening and diagnostic 
services for low-income, uninsured, and underserved women. According to 
the Centers for Disease Control, since 1991 NBCCEDP-funded programs 
have diagnosed 2,161 invasive cervical cancers and 114,390 precursor 
cervical lesions, of which 42 percent were high-grade. More recently, 
researchers have identified HPV as the main cause of cervical cancer, 
and an HPV vaccine and screening test have been developed.
  The simple fact is that cervical cancer is almost completely 
preventable through vaccinations, Pap testing, and testing for the 
human papillomavirus (HPV). Yet, as with so many other diseases, 
cervical cancer often strikes those who are least able to take 
advantage of these tools: Those who have either never had a screening 
test (either a Pap test alone, or in combination with an HPV test), or 
have gone many years without one, are the most likely to be diagnosed 
with cervical cancer. Unfortunately, in both the U.S. and around the 
world, this means that poor women, and those who face barriers to 
obtaining quality health care,

[[Page 2453]]

are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer. And the disparities 
are huge: Hispanic women are twice as likely as white women to be 
diagnosed with cervical cancer, and African-American women are twice as 
likely as white women to die of the disease. Asian-Americans, Native 
Americans, and women in certain areas of the U.S. are also at increased 
risk. Cervical cancer is an even greater burden outside of this 
country, with about 500,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer every 
year, more than half of whom will die from this preventable disease.
  Let us redouble our commitment to ensuring that all women are 
educated about cervical cancer and have access to proven screening and 
diagnostic tools so that one January, we can look back and say that we 
have won the fight against cervical cancer.

                          ____________________