Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month: Closing the Genetic Testing Gap

Every September, the Foundation for Women's Cancer leads the country in observing Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, a time set aside to talk openly about cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar cancers.1 The observance began in 1999 and has grown into a nationwide effort involving physicians, survivors, and advocates who want women to know the signs, the risk factors, and the resources available to them.2 The numbers explain why this work matters so much. A woman in the United States receives a gynecologic cancer diagnosis roughly every six minutes, and the National Cancer Institute estimated that well over one hundred thousand women would face one of these diagnoses in a single recent year.2

This year, the policy conversation happening alongside the awareness campaign deserves just as much attention as the ribbons and the social media posts. Congress is again considering the Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act, a bipartisan bill that would close a coverage gap most people do not know exists.3 Right now, a Medicare beneficiary who tests positive for an inherited mutation such as BRCA1, BRCA2, or Lynch syndrome can often get the genetic test covered, but Medicare frequently will not pay for what comes next: the enhanced screenings, the specialist visits, or the risk reducing surgeries that the test result was supposed to make possible.3 It is a gap that turns a moment of empowering knowledge into a financial dead end for many older women.

The stakes are especially high for ovarian cancer, where there is still no reliable screening test for the general population. Nearly one in four ovarian cancer cases traces back to an inherited genetic mutation, which makes early identification through family history and genetic counseling one of the few tools available for catching the disease before it advances.3 Advocacy groups supporting the bill point out that up to ten percent of all cancers, and a much higher share of ovarian cancers specifically, are linked to inherited mutations, and they argue that covering the follow up care is not an added expense so much as a way to prevent far more costly treatment down the road.3 The bill has drawn support from members of both parties in the House and Senate, a reminder that hereditary cancer prevention is one of the rare corners of health policy where common ground still gets found.

For those of us working in women's health, Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month is a natural moment to fold policy literacy into patient education. Encouraging a patient to ask her doctor about her family history is good medicine. Encouraging her to also ask what her insurance will actually cover if that history points toward a genetic risk is good advocacy, and this September gives us a reason to do both at once.

VIRGINIA SPOTLIGHT

Virginia's governor has formally recognized September as Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month in the Commonwealth, calling attention to prevention, early detection, and treatment of these five cancers.4 The proclamation is a symbolic step, but it also gives Virginia advocates an opening. State proclamations like this one are often the first mention lawmakers need before a coverage or funding bill gets introduced the following session, so this is a good moment for Virginia based supporters to reach out to their state delegates about genetic counseling access and hereditary cancer screening coverage closer to home.

As the fall session calendars fill up in Richmond and in Washington, Policy Corner will keep tracking the Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act and any companion state level efforts to close the same gap for women covered by Medicaid or private insurance. If your own family history includes breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer, this month is as good a time as any to have that conversation with your provider and to ask what a positive result would actually unlock for your care.

References

1. Society of Gynecologic Oncology. Resources available for Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. SGO website. Accessed September 2026.

2. National Day Calendar. Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, September 1, 2026. Accessed September 2026.

3. FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Information on the Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act. Accessed September 2026.

4. Office of the Governor of Virginia. Proclamation: Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. Governor.Virginia.gov. Accessed September 2026.