In the News

Today, California Congressman Jimmy Gomez and Washington Senator Patty Murray will introduce the Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women’s Health Act of 2019. Named after Jeannette Acosta, a former congressional employee who passed away after treatment for cervical cancer in 2017, the bill would create new grants to provide increased access to preventative and life-saving screenings for cancers that most frequently affect women. The bill also focuses on reducing health disparities which put low-income women and women of color at a higher risk of cancer mortality. In February 2018, my colleague spoke with Kira D., a 71-year-old woman living in Greene County, Alabama, who explained the financial constraints she faced trying to get routine cervical cancer screenings. After years of not receiving screenings, Kira was diagnosed with stage II endometrial cancer – a condition that might have been detected earlier had she been able to afford regular screenings, pap smears, and other preventative health care. But for Kira, her water, electricity, and transportation bills had to come first. Screenings for cancer save women’s lives. Cervical cancer is a highly treatable disease, yet approximately 4,200 women die from it in the US each year, with disproportionate impacts on low-income women and women of color. With early detection and timely follow-up treatment, cervical cancer is often successfully treated. The 5-year survival rate is 93 percent when it is diagnosed in its early stages.

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