Setting the Stage for a Battle of Epic Proportion.

I had a wide range of emotions while watching the NBC Nightly News report on ovarian cancer last Tuesday.

The most prominent of those emotions were anger and guilt.

I was angry because of the lack of development of a test to detect ovarian cancer in its early stages. That anger quickly faded to guilt.

I was guilty of ignorance. I was guilty of failing my own education. The cardinal rule of mass communication is to ask questions. I never asked questions. I took my mom’s diagnosis and went along for the ride.

I was guilty of blaming my mom. For years I had assumed there was a test she had never undergone. I assumed her cancer was diagnosed at a late stage because of something she had failed to do.

I was guilty of being a bad son because deep down inside, I blamed her. Had she undergone the test, she would still be here. I was mad at my mom because she died. The guilt of being angry with my mom since she died was unbearable.

Towards the end of the report, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams advised viewers to go to the website for more information. I needed to know more. I had to clear my conscience. I had to know more.

I soaked it all in like a sponge.

I watched the videos on the website intently. Many of the videos were personal stories from women with ovarian cancer.

I followed a link to the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute website. I learned that there is no early detection test for ovarian cancer. I learned that ovarian cancer has a survival rate of more than 90 percent if detected early. I learned that early detection of ovarian cancer happens in less than 20 percent of cases. In women age 35-74, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. An estimated one woman in 58 will develop ovarian cancer during her lifetime. I learned that the American Cancer Society estimated that in 2008, there would be 21,650 new cases of ovarian cancer and 15,520 women would die from ovarian cancer. I needed to learn more.

A quick search led me to the website of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. The information I learned further reinforced the facts that I had learned on the news and at the NIH website.

The NOCC website has a legislative action page. It was on this page that I learned about a few bills that had been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

A light clicked on.

I may not be able to beat ovarian cancer or develop an early detection method but there was something I could do. My college degree was in public relations and my minor was political science. I spent two years working around politics and some of my best friends still work for Members of Congress.

I decided on a course of action. I needed to research the bills and see how many cosponsors each one had. Once I knew that information my next goal would be to recruit more Members to sign onto these bills.

There are two bills in the House of Representatives and one bill in the Senate. The bill in the Senate (S. 755) is a companion bill to one in the House (H.R. 1816).

The first bill is known as H.R. 1816 in the House and S. 755 in the Senate, The Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009. The Congressional Research Service summary states:

Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Cancer Institute to enter into cooperative agreements with, or make grants to, public or nonprofit entities to establish and operate Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Centers of Excellence to conduct research on biomarkers for use in risk stratification for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer, focusing on translational research of such biomarkers. Permits federal funds to be used for research on: (1) the development and characterization of new biomarkers and the refinement of existing biomarkers; (2) the clinical and laboratory validation of such biomarkers; (3) the development and implementation of clinical and epidemiological research on the utilization of such biomarkers; (4) the development and implementation of repositories for new tissue, urine, serum, and other biological specimens; and (5) genetics, proteomics, and pathways of ovarian cancer as they relate to the discovery and development of biomarkers. Requires the Director to: (1) make available for research banked serum and tissue specimens from clinical research regarding ovarian cancer that was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and (2) establish an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Clinical Trial Committee to assist in designing and implementing national clinical trials to determine the utility of using such biomarkers. Requires a national data center to be established in, and supported by, the Institute to conduct statistical analyses of trial data and to store such analyses and data, which shall be used to establish clinical guidelines to provide the medical community with information regarding the use of validated biomarkers.

The second bill is H.R. 2941, To reauthorize and enhance Johanna's Law to increase public awareness and knowledge with respect to gynecologic cancers. The Congressional Research Service summary states:

Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 the current authorization of appropriations for the national public awareness campaign for gynecologic cancers (Johanna's law). Authorizes appropriations in subsequent fiscal years at levels necessary to carry out such campaign. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) collaborate with nonprofit gynecologic cancer organizations to provide gynecologic cancer information and outreach services; and (2) make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects to test outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers regarding gynecologic cancers.

I read all the information I could on these bills. It was while researching them on the Library of Congress website that I looked to see who had signed on as cosponsors.

Much to my surprise, not one member of the Minnesota delegation had signed on as cosponsors to H.R. 1816 / S. 755.

Two members of the Minnesota delegation, Reps. Oberstar and Ellison were cosponsors of H.R. 2941.

I was surprised that no one else was on these bills. I promptly fired off an email to Rep. Tim Walz’s state director, Meredith Salsbery. I asked her why the congressman wasn’t on those bills and if there was anything I could do to persuade him to sign them. She stated that she would look into it and would let me know promptly.

I felt like I had taken the first step in waging a war against my mom’s killer.

I would pick up the torch where she dropped it when she fell.

I have decided the next step is to raise an army of fighters. One voice can be ignored. An army of hundreds can quickly multiply and cannot be ignored.

Without early detection this disease will continue to kill thousands of women every year. We cannot waste any more time.

The time for war is now.

This is a righteous fight that we cannot afford to lose. Please join me – in honor of my mother and the thousands who died before her and the thousands who will die after her.