Foundation for Women’s Cancer Mission
The Foundation for Women's Cancer, formerly the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, was founded by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) in 1991. The Foundation's mission, in concert with SGO, is to support research and training, education and public awareness of gynecologic cancer prevention, early detection and optimal treatment.
Foundation programs are designed to:
Raise public awareness of ways to prevent, detect and optimally treat gynecologic cancers;
Provide education about gynecologic cancers and the central role of gynecologic oncologists in their treatment;
Support promising, innovative gynecologic cancer research and train a cadre of clinicians/scientists to participate in clinically relevant research in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute.
The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. All members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology also are Foundation members. 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.