[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 109 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9879-S9880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING LANCE ARMSTRONG

 Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today I recognize the 
remarkable achievements of Lance Armstrong, winner of the prestigious 
Tour de France bicycle race. On Sunday, July 25, less than 3 years 
after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, he sprinted to an 
inspirational victory in Paris. Lance Armstrong is a Texan who is an 
example of strength and courage to all cancer patients and athletes. He 
is only the second American in history to win the Tour de France, one 
of the world's most grueling athletic contests, and he is the first 
cancer survivor to achieve the feat.
  Lance Armstrong was born in Dallas, Texas, and grew up in nearby 
Plano. He first competed in athletics as a swimmer and took up the 
triathlon, which includes swimming, running, and cycling, at age 14. At 
17, after his potential was recognized by the U.S. national cycling 
team coach, he switched to cycling full-time. Lance Armstrong

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trained and competed at the highest level in the world, and began 
focusing on distance bicycle racing in his early twenties. Then, in the 
fall of 1996, when he was just twenty-five years old, Armstrong was 
diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer, which had already spread to 
his abdomen, lungs and brain. He was given a fifty percent chance of 
survival and underwent two operations and twelve weeks of chemotherapy. 
Throughout his fight with the disease, Lance Armstrong never gave up. 
After each one-week cycle of chemotherapy, he would ride 30 to 50 miles 
per day on his bicycle. By the summer of 1997, Armstrong had conquered 
cancer and began to pursue bicycle racing with new determination.
  Lance Armstrong dominated this year's Tour de France and after three 
weeks, 2,290 miles, and two mountain ranges, he won cycling's most 
prestigious and rugged race by more than 7\1/2\ minutes. Lance 
Armstrong dedicated his victory to other cancer survivors, whom he 
hoped would be inspired by his success. He was motivated by his 
determination to encourage other cancer patients and said upon winning, 
``I hope this sends out a fantastic message to all survivors: We can 
return to what we were before--and even better.''
  Lance Armstrong is one of the success stories in our ongoing fight 
against cancer. After overcoming the disease he dedicated himself, not 
only to cycling, but also to fighting cancer by founding the Lance 
Armstrong Foundation, whose mission is ``Fighting Urological Cancer 
through Education, Awareness, and Research.''
  Unfortunately, Lance Armstrong is not alone in his battle with 
cancer. Rates of testicular cancer have increased sharply over the past 
thirty years, especially among young men. The American Cancer Society 
estimates that about 7,600 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed 
each year in the U.S. But due to advances in early detection and 
treatment, many of them the result of research funded by the National 
Institutes of Health, U.S. statistics show a 70% decline in death rates 
from testicular cancer since 1973. As our commitment to cancer research 
continues to grow hand-in-hand with advances in the fight against 
cancer, and as more and more courageous Americans like Lance Armstrong 
show cancer can be beat, I am increasingly confident that we will beat 
this dreaded disease.
  I am proud that Lance Armstrong is an American and a Texan. His 
athletic victory and personal triumph make him a role model, not just 
to cancer survivors, but to all Americans. His remarkable achievements 
and inspirational influence on others can be simply summarized in the 
words written on a banner which was flown along the course of the Tour 
de France on Sunday: ``Victory is sweet. Living is triumph. Where 
there's a will, there's a way. Thank you for showing us a winning 
one.''

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