Today,
Senate Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney (D-Cincinnati) and President Tom Niehaus
(R- New Richmond) introduced key health legislation to provide Ohio women with
additional information when undergoing breast exams.
Senate
Bill 392 will require physicians to inform women of their breast density and
possible risks following a mammogram. Breast
density is a measure used to describe the proportion of the different tissues
that make up a woman’s breasts.
According to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, women
with high breast density are four to five times more likely to get breast
cancer than women with low breast density.
“I introduced this legislation because it provides another
preventative tool for women in the war against breast cancer,” said Senator
Kearney. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United
States. By having this additional information, women will be able to make
proactive choices in managing their health.”
If passed, Ohio would be the sixth state to implement a law
requiring disclosure to patients following Connecticut, Texas, Virginia,
California and New York. Federal
legislation has also been introduced in the U.S. House.
"I
am pleased to join Senator Kearney in this effort to help women become more
aware of those factors that might help with early detection of breast
cancer," Senator Niehaus said.
Connecticut was the first state to institute the regulation in
2009 after Nancy Cappello lobbied state legislators following the discovery of
cancer that her mammogram screening missed.
