Chicago, IL -- "We women need to take control of our bodies and become medical consumers. We must become better partners with our physicians and learn the early warning symptoms of the cancers that could affect us," said Fran Drescher today during the opening ceremonies of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) 57th Annual Clinical Meeting. "I feel like I got famous, I got cancer, and I lived to talk about it," Ms. Drescher said. "So I'm talking. I don't want what happened to me to happen to others."

Ms. Drescher's message to the several thousand ob-gyns in attendance was that more attention needs to be focused on diagnosing gynecologic cancers in their earliest stages when they are most treatable. "It's vital that we ob-gyns hear directly from such a powerful patient advocate about the critical importance of screening and early diagnosis of reproductive cancers," said Douglas H. Kirkpatrick, MD, ACOG President.

Ms. Drescher, an Emmy Award-winning actress and star of the television sitcom The Nanny, is an outspoken advocate for women's health. In 2008, she was appointed the US Department of State special envoy for women's health and now travels abroad to empower women to take charge of their health.

In June of 2000, at the age of 42, Ms. Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer, one of the three most common gynecologic cancers. She was misdiagnosed for two years by seven different doctors before finally being diagnosed correctly. During the two years leading up to the diagnosis she complained of bleeding between periods, a common symptom of uterine cancer. But because she was neither older nor obese, two of the biggest risk factors for uterine cancer, her symptoms were attributed to perimenopause. It wasn't until the eighth doctor performed a dilation and curettage (D&C) and a biopsy was done that Ms. Drescher was finally given a diagnosis of uterine cancer and underwent a hysterectomy.

"You cry, you kick, and you scream when you find out you have cancer," said Ms. Drescher. "But then you've got to pick yourself up, and play the hand that's been dealt you. Turn lemons into lemonade, pain into purpose, and try to make sense of the senseless."

"Every year, more than 750,000 women are diagnosed with uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer, which are the three most common gynecologic cancers," said Dr. Kirkpatrick. "In many cases, the diseases are not detected until their later stages because early symptoms can be vague and nonspecific and mimic other less serious conditions. Or, as in Fran's case, she didn't fit the so-called profile and her cancer was missed."

Ms. Drescher's experience propelled her to form the Cancer Schmancer Movement and the Cancer Schmancer Foundation to ensure that all women with cancer are diagnosed in stage 1, when it is most curable. The Cancer Schmancer Foundation educates women on the risk factors, early warning signs, and tests that are available for early detection of women's cancers. The Cancer Schmancer Movement is a non-profit organization that advocates for improved women's cancer health care legislation. The two organizations are based on Ms. Drescher's New York Times bestseller, Cancer Schmancer, for which she received the prestigious National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship Writer's Award.

"When women are empowered with knowledge, we're unstoppable," said Ms. Drescher. "When you wake up and smell the coffee, it's hard to go back to sleep. So let me sound the alarm that Stage 1 diagnosis is the cure."

On Capitol Hill, Ms. Drescher successfully lobbied for passage of Johanna's Law, the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act, which promotes gynecologic cancer education and awareness among both women and health care providers. "We owe Fran our deepest gratitude because her advocacy was the key in getting this law passed," said Dr. Kirkpatrick. "Her work will benefit generations of women to come."

As an official US State Department public diplomacy envoy for women's health issues, Ms. Drescher speaks globally to women about cancer prevention and education. She has received several awards in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of women and cancer, including the John Wayne Institute's Woman of Achievement Award, the Gilda Award, the City of Hope Woman of the Year Award, the Hebrew University Humanitarian Award, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Spirit of Achievement Award.

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