[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11576-H11577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Fox of Pennsylvania]. Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Minge] is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MINGE. Mr. Speaker, October is breast cancer awareness month. I 
wish to briefly address this Chamber on that important subject, since 
it has taken on an imminency for myself and my family in recent months.
  Seven and one-half months ago my wife learned that she had breast 
cancer. This has had a dramatic effect on us. Yet it is altogether too 
common, and I wish to emphasize some important points.
  First, hope. I think that altogether too many Americans feel that 
cancer is a sentence. Indeed, that is not the case, especially with 
breast cancer. If early detection occurs, the long-term survival rate 
is high. In fact, it is dramatically high, and it indicates that, 
indeed, treatment is available.
  Treatment is within the reach of all Americans. The important thing 
is to actually learn whether or not you have a malignancy. This brings 
me to the second point I would like to emphasize, and that is that one 
must face the situation realistically. Women and, yes, even men must be 
aware that they can contract breast cancer and that they should have 
mammograms. Women should have mammograms, and they should otherwise 
check to determine whether or not there are lumps or thickenings that 
indicate the possibility of a malignancy and have checkups. See a 
physician. Certainly that is something that is widely publicized in 
this country but, on the other hand, is altogether too easy to ignore 
the advice. If the advice is taken and early detection occurs, then 
hope is a realistic opportunity.
  The third point I wish to emphasize is care in our life-styles. 
Certainly there are indicators of the risk of breast cancer, a history 
in the family, other considerations. But still a significant majority 
of the breast cancer cases cannot be predicted based on these 
indicators, the family history and other considerations. It appears 
that it is important for us all to lead responsible lives and to avoid 
habits which increase our risk of cancer and other health problems.
  At this point I think that it is safe to say the Federal Government 
has become a very active participant in assisting women in determining 
whether or not they have a malignancy and encouraging mammograms and 
providing assistance for mammograms and establishing standards for 
mammography. The Federal Government has been very active in helping 
give hope, that is, developing treatment programs, sponsoring research 
on what treatment is effective, and I know that we will continue to be 
very active and aggressive at the Federal level in the research and 
encouraging treatment.
  But that does not mean that the Federal Government can do everything. 
We certainly have learned over the last several years that that is not 
a realistic expectation, and I do not think any American has that 
expectation. We must assume personal responsibility, person 
responsibility for healthy life-styles, personal responsibility for 
regular checkups, and personal responsibility for following through on 
recommended treatment regimens.
  In closing, I wish to reemphasize the point that problems do not go 
away if they are simply ignored, but instead we must be vigilant, and 
whether it is budget discussions such as have occurred here on the 
floor earlier this evening and I am sure will continue, or 

[[Page H11577]]

matters concerning health care, we must continue to take responsibility 
for our lives, to encourage our family and our friends to take 
responsibility for their lives and, finally, to be supportive of 
individuals who find themselves in this tragic and unfortunate 
situation.

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