HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.133
Reps. Price, Steckloff, Byrnes, Mentzer, McFall, Arbit,
Tsernoglou, Rogers, Wilson, Stone, Morse, Churches, Glanville,
Dievendorf, MacDonell, Morgan, Fitzgerald, Brixie, Andrews, Liberati,
Shannon, Hope, Brabec, Coffia, Rheingans, Neeley, Breen, Brenda
Carter, Skaggs, Haadsma, Snyder, Scott, Young, Paiz, Miller, Puri,
Farhat, Martus, O'Neal, Hoskins, Wegela, Whitsett, Hill and Bezotte
offered the following resolution offered the following resolution:
1 A resolution to declare September 2023 as Ovarian Cancer
2 Awareness Month in the state of Michigan.
3 Whereas, Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer
4 deaths of women in the United States and causes more deaths than
5 any other gynecologic cancer. An American woman’s lifetime risk of
6 being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is about 1 in 78; and
Ovarian Cancer Awareness M 23H
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1 Whereas, The American Cancer Society estimates 19,710 cases of
2 ovarian cancer will be newly diagnosed in 2023 and 13,270
3 individuals will die from the disease nationwide, including 610 new
4 cases and 460 deaths in Michigan. The five-year survival rate for
5 ovarian cancer is 50 percent and survival rates vary greatly
6 depending on the stage of diagnosis. The five-year survival rate
7 for ovarian cancer is over 90 percent for individuals diagnosed in
8 early stages; and
9 Whereas, While the mammogram can detect breast cancer and the
10 Pap smear can detect cervical cancer, there is no reliable early
11 detection test for ovarian cancer. In June 2007, the first national
12 consensus statement on ovarian cancer symptoms was developed to
13 provide consistency in describing symptoms to make it easier for
14 women to learn and remember those symptoms; and
15 Whereas, Women of color, low-income women, and women living in
16 rural areas have more barriers to accessing standard quality of
17 care and are more likely to receive care at a facility that has
18 poorer adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
19 treatment guidelines. Black women with ovarian cancer are more
20 likely to have late-stage diagnoses, receive lower quality clinical
21 services, and have lower five-year survival rates than non-Black
22 women; and
23 Whereas, Too many people remain unaware that the symptoms of
24 ovarian cancer often include bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain,
25 difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, urinary symptoms, and
26 several other vague symptoms that are often easily confused with
27 other diseases. The lack of an early detection test for ovarian
28 cancer combined with its vague symptoms mean that approximately 80
29 percent of cases of ovarian cancer are detected at an advanced
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1 stage; Improved awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer by the
2 public and health care providers can lead to a quicker diagnosis;
3 and
4 Whereas, Persistent issues collecting and reporting data
5 related to ovarian cancer risk, treatment, and outcomes are
6 particularly pronounced and impede the development of effective
7 policy; and
8 Whereas, All women are at risk for ovarian cancer, but
9 approximately 20 percent of women who are diagnosed with ovarian
10 cancer have a hereditary predisposition to ovarian cancer, which
11 places them at even higher risk. Scientists and physicians have
12 uncovered changes in the BRCA genes that some women inherit from
13 their parents, which may make those women thirty times more likely
14 to develop ovarian cancer. Family history of a woman has been found
15 to play an important role in accurately assessing their risk of
16 developing ovarian cancer and medical experts believe that family
17 history should be taken into consideration during the annual well-
18 woman visit of any woman; and
19 Whereas, Women who know that they are at high risk of ovarian
20 cancer may undertake prophylactic measures, such as opportunistic
21 salpingectomy, to help reduce the risk of developing this disease;
22 and
23 Whereas, Guidelines issued by the National Comprehensive
24 Cancer Network and Society of Gynecologic Oncology recommend that
25 all individuals diagnosed with ovarian cancer receive genetic
26 counseling and genetic testing regardless of their family history.
27 Studies consistently show that compliance with these guidelines is
28 alarmingly low, with recently published National Cancer Institute-
29 funded research finding that in 2013 and 2014, only one-third of
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1 ovarian cancer survivors have undergone such testing; and
2 Whereas, According to a 2016 consensus report by the National
3 Academy of Medicine, ‘‘there remain surprising gaps in the
4 fundamental knowledge about and understanding of ovarian cancer’’
5 across all aspects of the disease. Ongoing investments in ovarian
6 cancer research and education and awareness efforts are critical to
7 closing these gaps and improving survivorship for women with
8 ovarian cancer; and
9 Whereas, Each year during the month of September, Ovarian
10 Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) and community partner organizations
11 hold a number of events to increase public awareness of ovarian
12 cancer and its symptoms; now, therefore, be it
13 Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of
14 this legislative body declare September 2023 as Ovarian Cancer
15 Awareness Month in the state of Michigan. We urge increased public
16 awareness of this condition and support the goals and ideals of its
17 detection and treatment.