Early Detection Month For Breast Cancer

Floor Speech

Early Detection Month For Breast Cancer

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the remarks of the gentlemen from Illinois and North Carolina, and I want to drill down some of the numbers that have been offered by the American Cancer Society.

They report that in 2009, 1.5 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States alone. In addition, the American Cancer Society notes that roughly one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some type of cancer at some point in their lifetime. They also report that the most common types of cancer in the United States are nonmelanoma skin cancer, breast cancer in women, and prostate cancer in men. One out of every eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer, and about one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Furthermore, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, more than 560,000 Americans died of cancer. In other words, more than 1,500 people lost their lives to cancer every day last year. The American Cancer Society also notes that cancer accounts for nearly one out of every four deaths in the United States, which makes cancer the second most common cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease.

Now, despite these troubling statistics, with early detection and proper management, cancer can be highly treatable. As noted by the American Cancer Society, the 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2004 is about 66 percent, up from 50 percent in 1975 to 1977. The 5-year relative survival for female breast cancer has improved from 63 percent in the early 1960s to 89 percent today. Additionally, over the past 25 years, the 5-year survival rate for prostate cancer has increased from 69 percent to almost 99 percent.

Now, cancer can strike any individual regardless of gender, race, or age; but still, it is important to note that the risk of being diagnosed with cancer increases with age. In fact, according to the American Cancer Society, 77 percent of all cancers are diagnosed in persons 55 years and older.

Mr. Speaker, greater awareness of the critical necessity of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and all other cancers will save tens of thousands of lives, and may also help decrease the financial strain on government and private health care services by detecting cancer before it requires costly medical treatment.

Accordingly, let us take this opportunity through passage of H. Con. Res. 158 to increase public awareness of breast cancer and all forms and types of cancer and encourage all Americans to work with their doctors in order to maximize the possibility of early detection.

I urge my colleagues to join Mr. Etheridge in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 158.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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