About the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation
Visit the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation Web site
The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation was founded by the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO) in 1991. GCF’s mission, in concert with SGO, is to support research, education and public awareness of gynecologic cancer prevention, early detection and optimal treatment. GCF advances this mission by increasing public and private funds that aid in the development and implementation of programs to meet these goals.
All members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) are members of the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF). The organizations are financially separate although they jointly fund some projects. In the area of education, SGO works primarily with physicians and other health professionals, whereas the GCF's efforts are directed toward the public, making their educational missions complementary.
To better understand the work of the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), it is useful to define the following terms:
Gynecologic Oncology is a field of medical specialization that deals with the study and treatment of malignancies arising in the female reproductive tract. Ovary, endometrium, cervix, vulva and vagina are the sites of origin of the most common and serious gynecologic malignancies. Although they are often discussed as a group, they have significant differences in etiology, prevention, detection, treatment and likelihood of cure.
Gynecologic Oncologists are cancer specialists whose training is first that of an obstetrician/gynecologist, after which they have had two to four years of structured training in all of the effective forms of treatment of gynecologic cancers (surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and experimental treatments) as well as the biology and pathology of gynecologic cancer. The unique aspect of this training is that it allows patients to receive the mode of therapy (i.e., surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy) or combinations of therapy most likely to be successful without fragmenting their care among many physicians.
Gynecologic oncologists practice in a variety of settings (hospitals, cancer centers, and private practices).
