Recognition of National Cancer Research Month

Floor Speech

Ms. DELAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize May as National Cancer Research Month. This month we recognize the critical importance of cancer research and the contributions of researchers, clinicians, and patients across the country.

Before I was a Congresswoman, I was a survivor of ovarian cancer. I was lucky--my cancer was found by chance in its earliest stage, and I have now been cancer-free for 25 years now. So I arrived in this body knowing firsthand the crucial importance of medical research.

I am glad to say that our progress in fighting cancer since the National Cancer Act of 1971 has been nothing short of amazing. Nearly 12 million Americans are cancer survivors. There is a vaccine to help prevent cervical cancer. The overall five-year survival rate has increased from 52 percent in 1975 to 80 percent today.

And biomedical research is growing our economy. The National Institutes of Health support over 300,000 researchers at more than 3,000 universities, institutions, and businesses across the country. Every single dollar of National Institutes of Health funding is estimated to result in an additional two dollars of business activity and economic impact. Keeping it simple, this means that research supports jobs, and has a nearly two-fold return on our federal investment.

But, there is more to be done. Some cancers, including ovarian cancer, still have an extraordinarily high mortality rate and are typically caught far too late in the disease. This year, more than 1.6 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer. More than 570,000 Americans will pass away this year because of cancer; meaning more than 1,500 Americans each day, or one person a minute, will die because of this disease.

This is why our continued investments in cancer research are so important. Medical research creates investment opportunities for private industry. It strengthens our university medical system. It creates jobs, makes America more competitive, and drastically improves the quality of life for so many Americans. And it has the potential to save lives.

And it is why this month we join to thank scientists and clinicians for their work on cancer research. And we thank the patients who support that research by participating in clinical trials.

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