[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2015]]


IN RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL MAMMOGRAPHY DAY AND BREAST CANCER AWARENESS 
                                 MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB RILEY

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 1997

  Mr. RILEY. Mr. Speaker, today, somewhere in this country, a woman has 
been diagnosed with breast cancer. There's no cure to offer her. 
There's no known cause to explain her condition. She's just joined a 
club of over 180,000 women, who have received the same terrible news 
from their doctor. What's even worse is that she may join another group 
of over 43,000 women who die from breast cancer every year. And she 
will likely wonder if there is anything she could have done to stop it.
  And the answer is yes--women are not powerless in this fight for 
their lives. Over 92 percent of breast cancers can be treated with 
early detection and prompt treatment.
  October 17 is National Mammography Day and I am proud to be a 
cosponsor of House Resolution 235, which recognizes the importance of 
mammographies in the fight against breast cancer. I want to encourage 
every woman across this country to become more proactive in the fight 
against this disease by scheduling mammograms for herself or someone 
she loves. The most effective way to battle breast cancer is to detect 
the disease in its earliest stages, when treatment is possible. Through 
mammogram screening, physicians can discover breast cancer up to 2 
years before a woman could through self-examination. Clearly, the 
sooner the disease is diagnosed, the better the chance a woman has to 
survive.
  This is an issue that's obviously important to every woman in this 
Nation. However, it's an issue that should be crucial to America as a 
whole. I've been blessed through the women in my life. I have a 
wonderful wife, three lovely daughters, a great daughter-in-law, and 
the prettiest little granddaughter any one has ever seen. It scares me 
to know that 1 out of 9 women in America will be diagnosed with breast 
cancer in their lifetime. Out of these five ladies in my life, there is 
a chance one of them will one day become a member of the 180,000 women 
diagnosed with breast cancer.
  So, today I call on all Americans, both men and women, to focus more 
attention on this deadly disease and to become more active in the fight 
against it. After all, virtually everyone has a mother or a sister, a 
wife or a daughter that he or she loves and depends on. Women are too 
important, too precious to this Nation for any of us to ignore one of 
their most recurrent killers. I know all the women in my life are to 
me.

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