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DES Home | For Consumers | For Health Care Providers For DES Update Partners | Contact Us |
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed CDC's DES Update so the public and health care providers have the latest, most comprehensive, and accurate information about diethylstilbestrol (DES). CDC's DES Update was funded by the U.S. Congress and developed in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and many partner organizations. Researchers have been studying the effects of DES exposure for more than 30 years. However, not all persons who were exposed to DES nor their health care providers have always known the latest information about DES. A key goal of CDC's DES Update is to provide the most comprehensive information about DES, including findings from continuing studies on the health effects of DES exposure. CDC has also designed and distributed DES Update educational materials that give health care providers the latest research and tools they can use to learn more about DES. Ultimately, we want to help patients and health care providers have good discussions about DES and make the right choices to protect patients' health. How Can CDC's DES Update Help Me?CDC's DES Update includes information for persons who want to
CDC's DES Update is a resource for you, your family, and your health care provider. CDC's DES Update includes this Web site from which you can print and download information, and a toll-free number (1-800-CDC-INFO) that you can call for free printed materials. CDC's DES Update can help persons who think they may have been exposed to DES. To assess whether you may have been exposed to DES and to learn what you can do about DES exposure, use the Interactive DES Self-Assessment Guide. CDC will also sponsor a series of teleconferences, during which researchers and clinicians will present the latest research on DES exposure. The public is invited to call in, and DES researchers and clinicians will be available to answer questions from callers. Information on upcoming teleconferences will be posted on CDC's DES Update Web site. Is this the first DES educational effort?CDC's DES Update is the first comprehensive health education program. However, this is not the first effort to reach out to persons who have been affected by DES. In 1971, Dr. Arthur L. Herbst published a study identifying a rare cancer of the vagina, clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA), as a health risk for females exposed to DES before birth (in the womb). Since then, government agencies and advocacy organizations have been working to inform the public and health care providers about the effects of DES exposure. Following is a timeline of the history of DES:
CDC is working with advocacy and health care provider partners around the country to distribute information about DES. For example, DES advocacy organizations (such as DES Action, DES Cancer Network, and DES Sons Network) are channels to reach people who know they have been exposed to DES. In addition, the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health developed materials to update health care providers. The following government and non-government organizations worked with CDC to produce the DES Update:
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