Bill Text: NJ A1528 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act"; appropriates $75,000.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A1528 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A1528-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Camden)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. QUIGLEY
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Stender, Pou, Oliver, Watson Coleman, Voss, Greenstein, Handlin, McHose and Vandervalk
SYNOPSIS
"Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act"; appropriates $75,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing a gynecologic cancer public education and awareness campaign, supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Every 6.4 minutes, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with a form of gynecologic cancer such as ovarian, cervical or uterine cancer;
b. In the last 10 years alone, over 250,000 women in this country have lost their lives to these diseases;
c. This is a national tragedy magnified by the fact that the most common gynecologic cancers - ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer - have five-year survival rates exceeding 90% when diagnosed at their earliest stages;
d. Unfortunately, thousands of women in the United States every year are diagnosed after their cancers have progressed to more advanced stages when survival rates are far lower;
e. While diagnosis and treatment methods are becoming more targeted and accurate for gynecologic cancers, nearly 80,000 American women are newly diagnosed each year, with approximately 29,000 deaths from these cancers annually in this country;
f. Gynecologic cancers, such as ovarian and endometrial cancer, do not yet have a reliable screening test that can be used for the general population, so knowing the symptoms is key to early diagnosis;
g. Most women are still unaware of their risk factors and the early symptoms of gynecologic cancers, and these symptoms can easily be confused with common gastrointestinal illnesses, menopause, or perimenopause;
h. Ovarian cancer, the most deadly of the gynecologic malignancies, ranks fifth as a cause of cancer deaths among women nationwide;
i. Because early detection and treatment often mean the difference between life and death, it is important to increase awareness of the factors that put certain women at a higher risk for ovarian cancer, which include: increased age; having a personal history of breast cancer or a family history of breast, ovarian, uterine, colon or other gastrointestinal cancers; and not bearing any children;
j. The symptoms of ovarian cancer include: general abdominal discomfort or pain, such as gas, indigestion, pressure, swelling, bloating or cramps; nausea, diarrhea, constipation or frequent urination; loss of appetite; feeling of fullness after a light meal; weight gain or loss with no known reason; and abnormal bleeding from the vagina;
k. Because these symptoms are vague and non-specific, women and their physicians often attribute them to more common conditions so that by the time the cancer is diagnosed the tumor has often spread beyond the ovaries;
l. Although development of a screening test to detect ovarian cancer remains a very active area of research, currently there is no definitive prevention strategy, but having regular pelvic examinations may decrease the overall risk of dying from ovarian cancer; and
m. It is clearly in the interest of advancing the public health for this State to commit itself to a widespread and sustained effort to increase awareness of gynecologic cancer among the general public.
3. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services shall establish a public education and awareness campaign to inform the general public about the clinical significance of gynecologic cancer and its public health implications, including, at a minimum, the risk factors, symptoms, need for early detection, and methods of treatment associated with gynecologic cancer.
For the purposes of the public education and awareness campaign, the commissioner shall, at a minimum:
a. provide for the development of printed educational materials and public service announcements in English and Spanish;
b. disseminate information for distribution to the public through such entities as the commissioner determines most appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this act, including, but not limited to, local health agencies and clinics, physicians, health care facilities, county offices on aging, pharmacies, libraries, senior citizen centers, and other community-based outreach programs and organizations;
c. post such information on the official Internet website of the Department of Health and Senior Services; and
d. take such other actions as the commissioner deems appropriate to enhance public awareness of gynecologic cancer among members of the general public.
4. There is appropriated $75,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Senior Services to carry out the public education and awareness campaign pursuant to this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, which is designated the "Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act," establishes a gynecologic cancer public education and awareness campaign in the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The bill provides specifically as follows:
· The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services is to establish a public education and awareness campaign to inform the general public about the clinical significance of gynecologic cancer and its public health implications, including, at a minimum, the risk factors, symptoms, need for early detection, and methods of treatment associated with gynecologic cancer.
· For the purposes of the public education and awareness campaign, the commissioner, at a minimum, is to:
-- provide for the development of printed educational materials and public service announcements in English and Spanish;
-- disseminate information for distribution to the public through such entities as the commissioner determines most appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this act, including, but not limited to, local health agencies and clinics, physicians, health care facilities, county offices on aging, pharmacies, libraries, senior citizen centers, and other community-based outreach programs and organizations;
-- post such information on the official DHSS Internet website; and
-- take such other actions as the commissioner deems appropriate to enhance public awareness of gynecologic cancer among members of the general public.
· The bill appropriates $75,000 from the General Fund to DHSS to carry out the public education and awareness campaign.
