[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LUNG CANCER RESEARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2000

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the tragedy of lung 
cancer, which afflicts hundreds of thousands of Americans. I especially 
want to pay tribute to my constituent, Vivian Feigl of Rego Park, New 
York, who struggles with this debilitating disease and whose 
longstanding commitment to helping those with lung cancer is an 
inspiration to us all. Rarely do I encounter people with as much 
passion and energy for an issue as Vivian has for finding a cure for 
lung cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, most of us know how devastating lung cancer can be. But 
few Americans understand how pervasive this disease is. According to 
the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the number one cancer 
killer of American women. More people die of lung cancer annually than 
colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. In this year alone, over 
164,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed, and nearly 157,000 
people will die of lung cancer. Moreover, whereas early detection can 
prevent an overwhelming majority of deaths for some cancers, such as 
cervical and prostate cancer, few cases of lung cancer are caught at an 
early stage. Overall, the five-year survival rate for all stages of 
lung cancer is 14 percent. Clearly, we can and must do more to fight 
this terrible illness.
  I have long supported increasing our investment in medical research 
because it can both save lives and reduce our nation's health care 
costs in the long run. And as a member of the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education, I have worked hard to ensure that 
researchers have the resources necessary to continue to make advances 
in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
  Yet while funding for long cancer research has increased to about 
$160 million in 1999, our battle is far from over. With so many 
Americans like Vivian fighting bravely against this disease, we must 
continue to increase funding for lung cancer research. The Labor-HHS-
Education appropriations bill that passed subcommittee last week would 
provide an additional $1.3 billion for the National Institutes of 
Health--a badly needed increase. As this bill moves forward, I hope 
that we'll ultimately provide a $2.7 billion increase so that we can 
meet our goal of doubling the NIH budget over five years.
  So today, I again commend Vivian Feigl, who has devoted so much of 
her time and energy to the fight against lung cancer. And I promise to 
continue my fight to double funding for the NIH so we can find cures 
for lung cancer and the many of the other diseases and disorders 
plaguing our nation. Our friends and families depend on our unbending 
commitment to this critical research, and they deserve no less.

                          ____________________