[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




H. CON. RES. 405--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO THE 
  NEED TO PROVIDE PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS WITH MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO 
        INFORMATION ON TREATMENT OPTIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Con. Res. 405 and the continued need to provide prostate cancer 
patients with meaningful access to information on treatment options.
  Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among American men. 
The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2004 about 230,110 
new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. 
One man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his 
lifetime, but only 1 man in 32 will die of this disease. The key to 
decreasing the amount of men that die from this disease yearly is not 
only informing patients about all the available treatment options but 
identifying the disease early on.
  Because early detection is essential in the treatment and survival 
rates of Prostate Cancer patients, often Americans with limited health 
care are more susceptible to detection at more advanced stages, and 
increased mortality rates. In fact because of their low levels of 
medical healthcare African Americans are two to three times more likely 
to die of prostate cancer than white men. Only 66 percent of African 
Americans diagnosed with prostate cancer survive for 5 years, compared 
with 81 percent of white men.
  As Members of Congress we must do everything in our power to ensure 
that medical service providers are informing patients on all possible 
treatments of this devastating disease. Education will inevitably lead 
to the best treatment options for all patients. Furthermore this 
Congress must take action to ensure that all Americans have regular 
access to health care so that diseases like prostate cancer can be 
detected in their earliest stages. We cannot continue to fail the 
millions of Americans without health care coverage because this makes 
our citizens increasingly susceptible to many devastating diseases like 
prostate cancer.
  Mr. Speaker, prostate cancer continues to plague thousands of men in 
our country every year. I support this legislation that will encourage 
medical service providers to increase awareness on treatment options 
for prostate cancer patients and I urge this body to continue the 
discussion that would eventually yield much needed health care service 
to every American.

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