Dr. John Bishop, Fran Drescher and Congressman Steve Israel promote Gynecologic Cancer Awareness

RICHMOND VA, October 2, 2007 – In observance of Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, the beloved actress, producer, New York Times best-selling author, and women’s health advocate, Fran Drescher, headed to Capitol Hill with the Cancer Schmancer Movement during the last week of September, rallying support for the need to educate women about gynecologic cancers and transform women’s cancer healthcare.

On Tuesday, September 25, 2007, Fran spoke to a Cancer Caucus at a Gynecologic Cancers and Disorders Briefing hosted by Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY).  She urged law makers to allocate funding for Johanna’s Law, a bill that she helped pass by unanimous consent through both houses of congress, which was signed into law by President Bush as the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act on January 12, 2007.

Other panel members of the Cancer Caucus briefing included Sherry Salway Black, Executive Director of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance; Dr. Richard Schlegel, Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Pathology, who helped develop the HPV vaccine; Chris Veasley, Associate Executive Director, National Vulvodynia Association; and Dr. Vivian Pinn, Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health.

Along with Gynecor, audience members included Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI), as well as members of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG), with whom Ms. Drescher had met earlier in the week.

On Monday, September 24^th, Fran Drescher and Gynecor’s medical director, Dr. John Bishop, M.D. visited ACOG’s headquarters in D.C. to discuss making gynecologic cancer screening the standard of care in Ob/Gyn offices across the country.

Gynecor is the only laboratory to offer a new endometrial brush biopsy, called the TruTest™, which collects tissue samples from a wide area of the uterine lining, making earlier diagnosis more likely, with little or no patient discomfort.  The test also returns results for cervical abnormalities, as well as STDs such as HPV, Chlamydia and gonorrhea. 

A uterine cancer survivor who was mistreated and misdiagnosed for two years by eight doctors, Fran Drescher has made it her life mission to put an end to late stage diagnosis. To this end, she launched the Cancer Schmancer Movement on June 21, 2007, her seven year anniversary of wellness from cancer, to ensure that all women’s cancers are diagnosed in Stage 1, when they are most curable, through education, prevention, and policy change.

Gynecor, a specialty anatomic testing laboratory devoted exclusively to women’s health, has locked elbows with the Cancer Schmancer Movement as a founding sponsor to raise awareness about women’s cancers and revolutionize women’s healthcare.

About Gynecor™
Gynecor is the only full-service anatomic pathology laboratory devoted exclusively to gynecology.  Our exceptional staff includes board-certified pathologists and cytopathologists, an international sales force, and a dedicated client services team.  Gynecor’s mission is to optimize patient care by delivering accurate testing results, fast.  Gynecor’s unique TruTest kits are processed in the Orlando FL and Phoenix AZ and London England facilities. For more information, visit www.gynecor.com

 About Johanna’s Law
The Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act (H.R. 1245/S.1172) will authorize a three-year national gynecologic cancer early detection and awareness campaign directed at women and health care providers.