Pictured, Shirley Plahovinsak is the current Commander of Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary (DAVA) Unit #63 (Clermont County) and the DAVA Department of Ohio Chaplain. She has been an active member of the Department’s Legislative Team since 2017. Photo courtesy Shirley Plahovinsak.
On June 7, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed two (2) critical pieces of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) legislation for women veterans enacting them now into law. The first new law is the Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options (MAMMO) for Veterans Act, which was introduced by Congresswoman Julia Brownley on July 30, 2021.
The second new law enacted by the President is the Dr. Kate Hendericks Thomas Supporting Expanded Review for Veterans in Combat Environments (SERVICE) Act, which was introduced by Senator John Boozman and Congresswoman Julia Brownley.
The MAMMO for Veterans Act would require the VA to develop a strategic plan to improve breast imaging services and create a Telemammography Pilot Program for veterans in areas where VA does not offer in-house mammography.
In addition, the new enacted law would require the VA to upgrade all in-house breast imaging to 3D mammography, which is often considered the “gold standard” imaging technology for mammography.
The MAMMO Act would also require the VA to enter a partnership with the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense to expand veterans’ access to clinical trials.
An estimated 700 women veterans enrolled in VA Health care are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. “Breast cancer screening and care are fundamental to the health and well-being of our women veterans,” said Congresswomen Julia Brownley. “We must prioritize this issue and ensure that every veteran has access to this comprehensive care they need at VA facilities across our country.”
TheDr. Kate Hendericks Thomas SERVICE Act was named after Dr. Thomas, who passed away on April 5, 2022. The 42-year-old female Marine veteran passed away from cancer she acquired from the airborne toxic substances of the Open Burn Pits of Iraq.
This Law expands eligibility for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mammography screenings to veterans who served in certain locations during specified periods. This law would include those veterans who were exposed to toxic substances at these locations.
In addition, this Law would cover veterans of the Gulf War in Iraq from August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991. It would also cover veterans in Iraq from March 19, 2003 until the Open Burn Pits were no longer used in Iraq. Veterans who served in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, from August 2, 1990, until Open Burn Pits were no longer used in those locations
Veterans are eligible who served in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Yemen from September 11, 2001, until the Open Burn Pits were no longer used in those locations.
According to a May 2021 Study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, female veterans were nearly three times more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than the rest of the population.
The Study also reported breast cancer had tripled in the VA from 1995 to 2012 and breast cancer is the leading cancer that affects female veterans, with data that implied increases were based on service-related exposures.
In a 2015 VA Report, it was projected that up to 3.5 million veterans may have been exposed to toxic substances incinerated in the Open Burn Pits.
In February of 2017, while participating with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio Legislative Team, I had the honor of briefing Representative Brownley concerning the DAV’s Critical Policy Goals concerning women veterans’ legislation.
This February, I had the opportunity to brief Ohio Congressmen Brad Wenstrup, Robert Latta, Warren Davidson and Bob Gibbs concerning pending women veterans’ legislation, such as the MAMMO Act and the Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act.
Congress and the President has heard the voices of the DAV, and other veteran service organizations (VSOs), and finally we are going to ensure that the VA will have a plan for making high-quality, potentially life-saving breast imaging services more accessible to our women veterans.
In the past, the VA has historically made it difficult for female veterans to prove their illnesses were directly connected to the Open Burn Pits of Iraq and Afghanistan. These two (2) enacted laws should fundamentally change the VA’s past approach to breast cancer and censure women veterans receive the health care and attention they’ve earned.
The DAV and other VSOs will be carefully monitoring the progress made by the VA in implementing these two laws. I totally agree with Senator Mazie Hirono that the MAMMO Act “will save women veterans’ lives.”
However, it must be implemented correctly. This is the job of the DAV together with the other VSOs. We will be watching and reporting back to Congress to ensure this implementation occurs!