Legislation	Secretary of Senate	Members	Committees	Meetings	Home	House

SR 571 - Ovarian Cancer Detection, Preven- tion - efforts to educate citizens

Smith, Faye (25th)

Status Summary	SC:	H&HS	HC:		FR:	02/16/00	LA:	03/07/00	S - Passed/Adopted

First Reader Summary

A resolution encouraging and promoting efforts to educate citizens and health care practitioners regarding ovarian cancer detection and prevention, the risk factors involved in its development, and the early warning symptoms and signs; and for other purposes.

SR 571                                             LC 25 1597 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                             A RESOLUTION 
 
  1- 1  Encouraging and promoting efforts to educate citizens and 
  1- 2  health care practitioners regarding ovarian cancer detection 
  1- 3  and prevention, the risk factors involved in its 
  1- 4  development, and the early warning symptoms and signs; and 
  1- 5  for other purposes. 
 
  1- 6  WHEREAS, the incidence of ovarian cancer is growing over 
  1- 7  time with a 30 percent increase in the number of ovarian 
  1- 8  cancer cases and an 18 percent increase in the number of 
  1- 9  ovarian cancer deaths reported in the period from 1985 to 
  1-10  1995; and 
 
  1-11  WHEREAS, ovarian cancer has been predicted to reach epidemic 
  1-12  proportions as the population ages because advancing age is 
  1-13  one of the known risk factors for the development of ovarian 
  1-14  cancer; and 
 
  1-15  WHEREAS, the pap smear is sensitive and specific to the 
  1-16  early detection of cervical cancer but not to ovarian 
  1-17  cancer, and there is no screening test currently used for 
  1-18  the early detection of ovarian cancer; and 
 
  1-19  WHEREAS, the symptoms of ovarian cancer are vague and not 
  1-20  well known by the public, the majority of ovarian cancer 
  1-21  cases, 70 percent, are detected at an advanced stage, and 
  1-22  the survival rates for women with advanced ovarian cancer 
  1-23  has shown minimal improvement over the last 15 to 25 years; 
  1-24  and 
 
  1-25  WHEREAS, if diagnosed and treated at an early stage, before 
  1-26  the cancer spreads outside of the ovary, the treatment is 
  1-27  potentially less costly, and the five-year survival rate is 
  1-28  higher being 92 percent; and 
 
  1-29  WHEREAS, there are factors which are known to reduce the 
  1-30  risk for ovarian cancer and play an important role in the 
  1-31  prevention of the disease. 
 
  1-32  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the 
  1-33  members of this body acknowledge that ovarian cancer is a 
  1-34  very serious disease for women and that only through 
  1-35  education and awareness of symptoms will prevention occur. 
 
 
 
                                 -1-