Whereas the incidence of prostate cancer in
African-American men is 60 percent higher than in any other racial or ethnic
group in the United States;
Whereas African-American men have the highest mortality
rate of any ethnic and racial group in the United States, dying at a rate that
is 140 percent higher than other ethnic and racial groups;
Whereas that rate of mortality represents the largest
disparity of mortality rates in any of the major cancers;
Whereas prostate cancer can be cured with early detection
and the proper treatment, regardless of the ethnic or racial group of the
cancer patient;
Whereas African-Americans are more likely to be diagnosed
earlier in age and at a later stage of cancer progression than all other ethnic
and racial groups, thereby leading to lower cure rates and lower chances of
survival; and
Whereas, according to a recent paper published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Dana
Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School have discovered a variant of
a small segment of the human genome that accounts for the higher risk of
prostate cancer in African-American men: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)recognizes that
prostate cancer has created a health crisis for African-American men;
and
(2)urges Federal
agencies to designate additional funds for—
(A)research to
address and attempt to end such health crisis; and
(B)efforts relating
to education, awareness, and early detection at the grassroots levels to end
such health crisis.