New Women's Health Law Inspired By Babylon Mom Passed

BABYLON, NY - The local community came together to celebrate as Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new law inspired by a Babylon mother and teacher who lost a battle with breast cancer.

The new bill, signed on Aug. 7 now requires large group insurers to cover medically necessary mammograms for women between 35 and 39 year old.

The legislation, known as "Shannon's Law," is named for Shannon Saturno, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 28 years old and passed away at 31.

Currently, most insurance companies only cover annual mammogram screenings for women over 40. However, over 12,000 women under 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer annually.

"We know that with cancer diagnoses, early detection is the best possible treatment. This administration has taken and will continue to take aggressive action to break down any barriers to breast cancer screenings for women across the state," Cuomo said. "By signing this legislation, we are taking another step to break down barriers to breast cancer screening and improve access to health care for all women in New York."

Many of Saturno's family members, including her father Gene Romanchuck and her husband Kevin Santuro, were at the press conference to honor the passage of the new law.

"To lose my wife at 32 years old with a 2 and a half year old... nobody should have to do that, so this is a great start," Kevin told ABC7.

Local Senator Monica Martinez was one of the lawmakers who sponsored the bill.

"I strongly believe in the importance of early detection, and it is imperative that individuals under 40 have access to annual mammograms when deemed medically necessary," she said. "With 1 in 8 women developing breast cancer in their lifetime, the enactment of this bill is critical to enabling early detection and saving lives."