A bill authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that would require physicians to notify women who have dense breast tissue of their increased risk of breast cancer has been signed over the weekend by Gov. Jerry Brown and is now law of the land.
Senate Bill 1538 was proposed by Simitian a year after Brown had vetoed a similar proposal. The new bill requires women who get mammograms to get informed if they have dense breast tissue; that breast tissue can make it harder to evaluate a mammogram's results; that it is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer; and that a range of screening options are available.
According to Simitian, about 40 percent of the women who have mammograms have dense breast tissue, which appears on a mammogram and is thus difficult to distinguish from cancer. Simitian cited a January 2011 study by the Mayo Clinic that found that in women with dense breast tissue, 75 percent cancer is missed by mammograms alone.
"This is a life saver," Simitian said in a statement. "I'm tremendously thankful for the Governor's support of this measure, and for his willingness to listen to and work with us on this issue over the past year."
The legislation was proposed as part of Simitian's annual "There Oughta Be a Law" contest by Amy Colton, a Santa Cruz resident, registered nurse and cancer survivor. Despite undergoing routine mammograms, she had not been informed of her breast density until after she completed her treatment for breast cancer.
"I'm thrilled that the Legislature and the Governor have recognized the importance of SB 1538 to the women of California," Colton said in a statement. "This new law will provide women with important information about their physiology; and with that information they can be better advocates for their own health."
Comments
Crescent Park
on Sep 24, 2012 at 11:18 am
on Sep 24, 2012 at 11:18 am
Thank you Sen. Joe Simitian and Governor Brown for signing!
And, a SPECIAL AND HUGE THANKS TO Amy Colton of Santa Cruz! Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!
~ Knowledge is Power and I am so very thankful that I will NOW be better informed.
:) God Bless you All!
Community Center
on Sep 24, 2012 at 11:49 am
on Sep 24, 2012 at 11:49 am
Congratulations and a huge thank you to Joe and Amy for your teamwork and determination in bringing this to fruition. I can write this note because I had the good fortune to have found my breast cancer tumor when it was in the early stages. I'll never forget the first meeting with my oncologist who assured me that with early detection breast cancer is one on the most curable forms of cancer. I hope this legislation will increase the survival rate for many more women.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 24, 2012 at 1:17 pm
on Sep 24, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Well meaning law. Inappropriate forum. Legislators should stay out of medicine unless absolutely necessary. Screening issues are complicated and should be based on well designed randomized patient studies, not anecdotal cases. Brown should have stuck to his guns.
Greenmeadow
on Sep 24, 2012 at 7:48 pm
on Sep 24, 2012 at 7:48 pm
If a law is necessary to require doctors to provide notice of suspicious tissue, then this law is necessary. Obviously, "well designed randomized patient studies" missed Amy Colton's cancer. Why should she, or anyone for that matter be subject to gambling their lives on randomized studies by those viewing their test results? Obviously, law needs to be this much more involved in medicine, since the implication is that doctors don't always tell their patients the truth about their tests. Lumps are potential cancers.
Midtown
on Sep 24, 2012 at 8:21 pm
on Sep 24, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Many,many more women die of heart disease and lung cancer than of breast cancer.
This law will create much fear and many unnecessary treatments that have their own very high risks.
Medical decisions should be based upon evidence-not politics
False positive findings are a huge problem with breast and prostate tests
That is why the AMA now recommends against PSA tests for prostates
Because they lead to more harm to the patient than good.
Midtown
on Sep 24, 2012 at 10:05 pm
on Sep 24, 2012 at 10:05 pm
If you don't trust your doctor to do the right thing without a State law mandating it, suggest you get a new doctor.
Greater Miranda
on Sep 26, 2012 at 5:01 am
on Sep 26, 2012 at 5:01 am
Well, what will happen from this? Every woman will be told she has areas of "increased breast tissue density" to assure compliance with the law and avoid lawsuits..and it will be meaningless.
Thanks, Simitian and Brown, for making a doctor's advice meaningless.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Oct 10, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Registered user
on Oct 10, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Dear Joe,
I know you do not hear this enough, but thank you for a job well done