[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 96 (Thursday, July 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1030
 
INTRODUCTION OF THE PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT ACT OF 1994

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, the Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and 
Treatment Act of 1994, which I am introducing today, is an important 
part of the campaign to reverse the rising incidence of prostate cancer 
in American men.
  Prostate cancer is not some unusual disease that you rarely hear 
about; it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men, and the 
second leading cause of cancer death among men. Experts are projecting 
a troubling growth in both the number of diagnosed cases and deaths per 
year. By the year 2000, researchers are predicting increases of 90 
percent in diagnosis cases and 37 percent in deaths per year.
  In recent years, researchers have developed a simple, inexpensive 
blood test that detects signs of prostate cancer in the blood. Look in 
the President's or in other committee bills--you will find 
immunizations, mammograms, pap smears, cholesterol tests--everything 
but screening for prostate cancer. It is not there. It is time for us 
to do our job and provide quality care and treatment for the most 
commonly diagnosed cancer among men.

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