Cancer Research

Floor Speech

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, to my distinguished colleagues from New Jersey and from New York, I thank both of you all for addressing this issue, which is of national importance.

What both of my colleagues have said, Mr. Speaker, is correct. Cancer is a hideous disease, and we need a national commitment to beat this horrific disease.

I want to talk tonight to the American people about a personal experience that I had with cancer. At the same time, I want to also, as my distinguished colleagues did, honor the American Society of Clinical Oncology for their efforts to fight cancer.

When I was 9 years old, my mother developed breast cancer. I was more worried about playing baseball, being a kid; and I can remember vividly the doctor saying: your mother has cancer.

My parents were from the World War II generation. My mother was born in 1922, my dad in 1925, and they did not have a formal education; but I knew something was very wrong that night, and I knew my mother was going to have breast cancer surgery, but I didn't know what cancer was.

We had hoped and prayed that she would get better. Well, about 2 years later, unfortunately, that cancer did metastasize. At the time, my father was working away several hundred miles to keep a job, and I was an only child, and I can remember my mother waking up screaming in pain.

Actually, I didn't realize the cancer had come back, and actually, I called my dad, at that time, who was working in Pittsburgh; and basically, he called the surgeon, and the surgeon said: bring her on in, but I think the cancer is back.

Unfortunately, despite some chemotherapy and treatment, she lost that battle to cancer when I was 13 years old. I was a freshman in high school. That so impacted my life, my father's life, our entire outlook about cancer.

My father came from a generation where a cancer diagnosis was a death sentence, sadly. I can remember him crying when my mother was first diagnosed. He was crying uncontrollably, and I didn't understand why.

He said: no, no, no, this is going to be awful.

Sadly, it was. Interestingly enough, my father did live to the ripe old age of 87 1/2 , but I was before my subcommittee--and for the people watching tonight, I serve on the House Appropriations Committee, and one of my subcommittees is the Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services Committee, which actually funds the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

So for those watching--and I applaud my colleague from New Jersey when he was talking about all the other committees, but this committee actually funds research, and it is so, so critically important.

I was actually talking to the head of the NIH at that day and went outside and got a call from my father's doctor. He indicated that my father had an esophageal cancer.

Again, despite the fact that I was almost 50 years old and had a law degree, I didn't understand the gravity of that.

Fortunately, in this great body, in the House of Representatives, I serve with some very fine doctors, men and women who are outstanding doctors. I sat down with some of them, and they told me the gravity of the situation.

Sadly, my father lost that battle to esophageal cancer in 3 months. I went with him to the doctor, and I saw him through that process, and it was a sad process.

What we all know, this story that I have shared and that I have experienced has been experienced by millions of Americans. And sadly, the statistics show that cancer is on the rise, the incidence of cancer is on the rise.

Again, my colleagues alluded to the fact that President Nixon declared war on cancer many years ago. Well, this is a war that is ongoing, and this is a fight that we cannot lose. America ought to lead the way.

In this body, we control spending. We should control the spending. But I think sometimes about all of the waste, fraud, and abuse, duplicative programs and the like where we could actually show a great resolve--not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Americans--to beat this hideous disease. And I do want to commend the men and women who are oncologists who fight this fight every day.

In my district, the Third District of Tennessee, I have some very fine cities. One of those cities is Oak Ridge. And in Oak Ridge is the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and that laboratory is doing groundbreaking cancer research. So there is a Federal component to this. Our great universities are fighting this great fight.

And when I have young men and women come to me and say, ``What should I do when I grow up?'' I suggest medicine. It is a noble profession. It still is.

I feel sorry for a lot of the folks who are doctors today because they are facing a lot of challenges, and I think this body ought to resolve to help that profession so that profession, including the oncologists, can continue to provide the health care necessary to fight cancer and other diseases.

But as we move forward as a nation, I would just hope that we would stop and think about the magnitude of the effect of this horrific disease. Cancer one is not cancer two. There is no question about that. We have made tremendous strides toward several cancers, and that is great. We need to defeat breast cancer, but we need to defeat all cancers.

I was so sad to learn that the fight against so many cancers has still been futile. There are so many cancers out there that the success or survival rate is still so low. And I have learned that, actually, as a Congressman.

For those watching, I know our popularity and our numbers in this body sometimes are not that high, but I want to assure the American people that one of the things I do best and I think my colleagues do best is we get educated. People come from around the world, from around the country, constituents, oncologists, doctors, scientists, and they educate us, Mr. Speaker. They educate us about the progress being made on cancer or, sadly, in some cases, the lack of progress being made.

So it is my commitment not only to my constituents, but to all Americans. And I am proud to serve in this body. This is the people's House. This is a wonderful, wonderful body. Our Founding Fathers gave us this body, and our men and women who are fighting to preserve our freedoms in uniform every day allow us to have the great debates that go on in this Chamber.

But there must be a resolve, Mr. Speaker, to defeat cancer. We can do it. The cure for cancer is out there. The strides are being made. And as we work together as Americans, I sincerely hope that we can beat this hideous disease and help the men and women who are going through this and their families. The toll on families is horrific. I saw that as a young boy. I saw it as an adult man.

So, again, I want to thank the oncologists for fighting the good fight. I want to thank my colleagues for allowing me to address this issue tonight. And it is my fervent hope and prayer that we address this, as Americans, and defeat this hideous disease.

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