Sharon Henderson currently represents Georgia House District 113, which contains portions of Covington. Henderson is currently running for re-election and she finds herself in a primary battle against Karla Daniels Hooper. Henderson is a breast cancer survivor and her work in the Gold Dome has saved lives. Therefore, the first bill she was able to get across the finish line was a personal one for her.
“My first bill, House Bill 937, for “Early Detection Breast Cancer” saved so many women’s lives was signed into law by Governor Kemp during my first term in office,” Henderson says. “I’m a survivor and anything that I can do to help others and save lives, I will do it.”
According to a 2022 study commissioned by the American Cancer Society, African-American women have a 40% breast cancer mortality rate. It is the highest of any U.S. racial or ethnic group. Plus, the mortality rate for Black women diagnosed with breast cancer is 42% higher than White women. Furthermore, among women younger than 40, breast cancer incidence is higher among African American women than White women.
Cancer is not a bipartisan issue
Recently, Henderson secured the passage of House Bill 384, titled the “Early Detection Prostate Cancer Act.” Specifically, the bill mandates health insurance companies in Georgia to provide coverage for mammograms, Pap smears, and prostate-specific antigen tests. It also provides for annual notification by insurers to male insureds of coverage for prostate-specific antigen tests.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the incidences of prostate cancer among African-American men are 64% higher than White men. African-American have twice the mortality rate and are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a younger age than White American men.
The legislation was signed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on April 23rd, 2024. It passed out of the Georgia House and Senate by wide margins.
“This is my 2nd bill signed into law during my 2nd term in office as a Georgia State Representative,” Henderson says. “In Georgia, 9,620 new cases of men will be diagnosed in 2024. Please encourage the men in your lives to get a yearly screening with a PSA Prostate Specific Antigen test. I am a firm believer that “Early Detection Save Lives.”