Margie’s Law makes it to GA governor’s desk

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - A Savannah woman may be helping make changes at the federal level.

We’ve been telling you about Margie Singleton’s fight against breast cancer and her fight for a new law in Georgia - Margie’s Law.

Singleton was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer only six months after a routine mammogram. She found out she had dense breast tissue, making it difficult to detect cancer with a traditional mammogram. Now, she is working to get a law passed in Georgia that would require healthcare facilities to notify a patient if they have dense breast tissue.

Margie’s Law has made it past the Senate in the state of Georgia, and now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed a rule that would require healthcare providers to notify their patients about dense breast tissue, like Margie’s Law would require them to do in Georgia.

Margie’s law passed the Senate 100 percent. Now the bill sits on the governor’s desk, waiting to be signed.

“Me fighting to get this bill passed for other people gave me a purpose outside of just surviving cancer for myself, it gave me a direction. It gave me something else to focus on," Margie Singleton said.

Now, Margie is focusing on another announcement. For the first time in more than 20 years of regulating mammography facilities, the FDA is proposing changes to regulations that would help improve the quality of mammography service. It would expand the information mammography facilities must provide to patients and health care professionals, allowing for more informed medical decision-making.

“Finally, we are getting some help not just from women and advocacy groups from different states - we are actually getting help from the government, the FDA, and especially for those states that haven’t moved forward and implemented it into a law," she said.

Right now, Margie says 37 states have the law in place, but having this rule passed would help the states that do not have any laws in place.

“This will help, one, mandate and monitor things and make sure that these imaging centers are doing the right thing by their patients to bring that further awareness to them.”

The FDA’s proposal would amend regulations issued under the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 which Congress passed to ensure quality mammograms for early breast cancer detection. The proposed rule is available online for public comment.

“I’m thankful we are actually getting the government involved. It’s just going to further enable lives to be saved. That’s the most important thing with this whole journey," Singleton said.

The FDA’s proposed rule is available here for public comment for 90 days.

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