[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E610-E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL MINORITY CANCER AWARENESS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the week of April 18-24, 2004 as National Minority 
Cancer Awareness Week. This national campaign, initiated by Congress in 
1987, seeks to heighten awareness of the unequal cancer burden borne by 
racial and ethnic minority populations and other medically underserved 
communities.
  Despite all the progress that has been made in the battle against 
cancer, a disproportionate burden of cancer continues to fall on 
specific populations. African Americans have the highest death rate for 
all cancers. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian American 
women. And even when controlling for income level, African American, 
American Indian, Alaska native, Asian American, and Pacific Islander 
men have a lower 5-year survival rate than non-Hispanic white males.
  In my state of Wisconsin in 2003, 25,800 new cancer cases were 
diagnosed and 10,800 people in my community died from cancer. Once 
these statistics are analyzed, I believe we will find that a 
disproportionately high burden of these cancer deaths will be borne by 
minority populations. The future health of Wisconsin--and of America as 
a whole--depends

[[Page E611]]

on our success in improving the health of minority and other medically 
underserved populations.
  I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 918, the Patient Navigator, Outreach, 
and Chronic Prevention Act. This legislation would set up patient 
navigator systems, which would provide patients with a trained 
navigator ``buddy'' from their own community, who speaks their own 
language, and who will act as their advocate in navigating the health 
care system. This program would do wonders to increase awareness of 
programs and services in minority communities, and provide an 
opportunity to empower impacted communities in the fight against 
cancer.
  By passing legislation like H.R. 918 and lending support to National 
Minority Cancer Awareness Week, we can reduce and ultimately eliminate 
the disparate burden of cancer and other diseases on minority and 
medically underserved communities. I urge my colleagues to support both 
of these important initiatives.

                          ____________________