(Sacramento, CA) – Speaker pro Tempore Sally Lieber (D-San Jose) today introduced Assembly Bill 1774, which will require health insurers to provide expanded coverage for annual cancer exams for women.

“Our goal is to increase the number of women whose cancers are diagnosed at Stage 1.  That is when these diseases are most treatable and curable.  The cost of testing is minor compared to the value of lives that will be saved,” said Lieber.  “It is important to make these tests part of a woman’s basic medical examination when a doctor decides they are necessary, and make sure that insurance will cover them.”

Statistics show the stark reality: early diagnosis means dramatically increased survival rates.  Only 19% of ovarian cancer is currently diagnosed in Stage 1, when there is a five-year survival rate of 92% for women who receive treatment.  Instead, most women are only diagnosed when they have progressed to Stage 3 (24%, with a 42% five-year survival rate) or even worse, Stage 4 (25%, with only a 17% five-year survival rate).

In the United States there are more than 75,000 newly diagnosed cases of uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer annually, the three most common gynecologic cancers.  Each year, over 20,000 women will be told they have ovarian cancer, the most deadly of the three.  But the common pap test does not detect ovarian or uterine cancer.  Additional tests are readily available to diagnose them, but they are underutilized.

“This bill doesn’t dictate any type of treatment or testing by doctors, or call for the coverage of experimental therapies.  It makes medically recognized, reliable tests more widely available to the women who can benefit from them,” said Lieber.  

The bill is sponsored by the Cancer Schmancer Movement, an organization founded by the actress, author and women’s health advocate Fran Drescher, herself a survivor of uterine cancer.  Filing of the bill was announced today at a press conference attended by Ms. Drescher in the Capitol.

“California is on the cutting edge. Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature approved the toughest emissions standards in the nation to protect our environment. It's time for another bold move to protect the very place where life begins: the womb,” said Drescher. “The Cancer Schmancer Movement seeks to ensure Stage 1 diagnosis of all women's cancers.  The women of California deserve access to the important medical tests that could save their lives. Remember, Stage 1 is the cure!”

Immediately following the press conference, Speaker pro Tempore Lieber presented an official resolution to Ms. Drescher on the Assembly Floor.  The resolution recognizes her work in improving women’s lives as a health advocate.