[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 25, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E633-E634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         BEADS OF HOPE PROJECT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2001

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, lymphoma advocates are coming to 
Washington, DC for the 3rd annual Lymphoma Advocacy Day on April 25, 
2001 to unveil a project that will put the rising incidence of lymphoma 
into perspective for Members of Congress and the public.
  Mr. Speaker, according to the American Cancer Society, 1996 saw over 
85,000 new cases of lymphoid malignancies in the United States. These 
included Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the lymphocytic 
diseases known as CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) and ALL (acute 
lymphoblastic leukemia) as well as multiple myeloma. Lymphoma is the 
second most rapidly rising cancer over the last 20 years. Sixty percent 
of all childhood malignancies are lymphomas or their cousin, leukemia.
  The project being unveiled is called ``Beads of Hope'', it consists 
of a necklace of beads to symbolize the 64,000 Americans who will be 
diagnosed with lymphoma in 2001. Each bead represents one newly 
diagnosed person.
  Mr. Speaker, these Beads of Hope have a story of their own that I 
would like to share, it makes me proud to be an American. The project 
was conceived by Karl Schwartz, whose wife, Joanne, is a non-Hodgkin's 
lymphoma survivor. Karl circulated his idea over several lymphoma 
Internet list-servers and received an enthusiastic response. One member 
of his email group, Jessica Chen, took off with the bead idea, shared 
it with Debra of the Bead Fairies and received a donation for all 
64,000 beads from The Beadery of Hope Valley, Rhode Island.
  Email group members are volunteering to string beads in sections that 
will be brought to Washington, DC and assembled on Capitol Hill. 
Jessica estimates that when connected the necklace will be 600 yards 
long! At the suggestion of Cure For Lymphoma board member Katherine 
Adams, advocates will continue the theme by wearing beaded safety pins 
on their clothing and distributing pins to Members of Congress with 
whom they will be meeting on the 25th. Each bead on a pin will 
represent one year of being touched by lymphoma.
  I ask my colleagues to show your support for this caring initiative 
by wearing these beaded pins. Make and distribute pins to your family, 
friends, business associates and Congressional reps. Carry the theme 
forward into National Lymphoma Awareness Week (Oct. 7-13).
  I thank the Lymphoma advocates who have come to our Nation's Capitol, 
I thank the Lymphoma Research Foundation of America for all the hard 
work they have done to fight this dreaded disease. As you know I 
strongly support the increased funding of the National Institutes of 
Health, and hope to see its budget doubled over the next five years, 
and with that hopefully diseases such as lymphoma will become history.

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