[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL MINORITY CANCER AWARENESS WEEK

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                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of 
National Minority Cancer Awareness Week.
  This year marks the 18th annual National Minority Cancer Awareness 
Week, a national awareness campaign which focuses on the 
disproportionate cancer burden experienced by racial and ethnic 
minorities and other medically underserved communities.
  Despite all the progress that has been made in the battle against 
cancer, there is still much work to be done to eradicate this horrible 
disease.
  In California alone, 125,000 new cancer cases will be diagnosed this 
year; 52,200 people will die from cancer. Out of every 100,000 people 
living in California, 186 will eventually die of cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know that a disproportionate burden of cancer 
continues to fall on a number of populations. African Americans have 
the highest death rates for all cancers and cancer is the leading cause 
of death for Asian American women.
  According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average annual 
death rate per 100,000 people for all types of cancers was 257 for 
African Americans, 199 for whites, 138 for Hispanic-Americans, 138 for 
American Indians, and 125 for Asian/Pacific Islanders.
  For every 100,000 people living in California, 65 African Americans 
in that group will die each year from lung cancer, 17 Hispanic women 
will die from breast cancer and 13 Asian Americans will die from 
prostate cancer.
  Inadequate access to preventive services and early detection means 
that diseases like cancer are more often diagnosed at later stages when 
the severity is likely to be greater and options for treatment are 
decreased.
  The future health of America as a whole will be influenced 
substantially by our success in improving the health of minority and 
other medically underserved populations.
  I rise today to commend those working in my district and state who 
work tirelessly on this issue in the hopes of one day beating cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in Congress to come together and 
find a way to fund crucial research into cures for this disease. I hope 
we can reduce and ultimately eliminate the disproportionate burden 
cancer and other diseases pose on minority and medically underserved 
communities in our country.

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