IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors officially designated September 2023 as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in Johnson County via a proclamation signed August 31 by Lisa Green-Douglass, Chairwoman for the Board of Supervisors. In addition, Governor Kim Reynolds has designated September National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in the state of Iowa.
Solon’s Bridget Toomey, a Patient Advocate and Asst. Dept. Administrator – University of Iowa Health Care Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, received both proclamations in honor of her late mother, a victim of ovarian cancer in 2016 after a two-year battle. Toomey worked with Gov. Reynolds for the proclamation and has travelled to Washington, D.C. to lobby Iowa’s legislative delegation.
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women in Iowa and is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers with a five-year survival rate of just 46 percent. Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country and statistics show cancer rates are rising in Iowa with 190 women expected to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year, and sadly, 140 of them expected to die from the disease.
Because of the location of the ovaries in the body, most ovarian cancers are not diagnosed until the late stages of the disease. Additionally, there is no screening test for ovarian cancer as a pap smear does not detect ovarian cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates 19,710 cases of ovarian cancer will be newly diagnosed in 2023 and 13,270 individuals will die from the disease nationwide. The designation of September as Ovarian Cancer Month will help raise awareness of the disease.
For her advocacy and professional work Toomey was nominated for the Corridor Business Journal’s Forty under 40 award, an honorary award for young professionals making an impact in their business and community early in their careers. As a recipient of the award, Toomey will be recognized by the Corridor Business Journal Friday, October 20.
Bridget Toomey holds a proclamation declaring September to be National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in Johnson County as approved by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. Toomey, an advocate for awareness of the disease, also worked with Governor Kim Reynolds for a statewide proclamation and has lobbied Iowa’s legislative delegation in Washington, D.C.