[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 130 (Thursday, November 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11075-S11076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 617--DESIGNATING NOVEMBER 2006 AS ``NATIONAL LUNG 
                        CANCER AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. CHAMBLISS submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 617

       Whereas lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of both 
     men and women, accounting for nearly 1 in every 3 cancer 
     deaths in the United States;
       Whereas lung cancer claims the lives of more people each 
     year than breast, prostate, colon, liver, and kidney cancers 
     combined;
       Whereas the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 
     (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute estimates 
     that, in 2006, 174,470 new lung cancer cases will be 
     diagnosed and 162,460 individuals will die of lung cancer in 
     the United States;
       Whereas both incidence and mortality rates for lung cancer 
     are significantly higher in black males than in the general 
     population of the United States;
       Whereas smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the best way to decrease the number of diagnoses 
     and deaths per year from lung cancer is to encourage people 
     in the United States to quit smoking;
       Whereas a former smoker's risk of lung cancer does not 
     decrease significantly until 20 years after the individual 
     quit smoking;
       Whereas the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program 
     has demonstrated in a 14-year study with 31,567 participants 
     that computer tomography scans can detect lung cancer in 
     Stage I when the cancer can be more easily treated and cured, 
     giving individuals who are diagnosed early a 10-year survival 
     rate of 88 percent;
       Whereas there is a need to increase public awareness of 
     statistics, risk factors, and the importance of early 
     diagnosis;
       Whereas individuals with cancers that are routinely 
     diagnosed at early stages through screening, such as breast 
     cancer and prostate cancer, have high survival rates of 88 
     percent and 99 percent, respectively;
       Whereas the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer in the 
     United States is still only 15 percent, a rate virtually 
     unchanged since the enactment of the National Cancer Act of 
     1971; and
       Whereas designating November 2006 as ``National Lung Cancer 
     Awareness Month'', as proposed by the Lung Cancer Alliance 
     and the Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia, will increase public 
     awareness about lung cancer and the need for lung cancer 
     research and early detection: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates November 2006 as ``National Lung Cancer 
     Awareness Month''; and
       (2) reaffirms the Senate's commitment to--
       (A) advancing lung cancer research and early detection, and 
     particularly the Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia's goal of 
     significantly increasing the 5-year survival rate of 
     individuals diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States 
     to 50 percent within 10 years; and
       (B) working with all Federal agencies involved in cancer 
     research to develop a coordinated roadmap for accomplishing 
     that goal.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, today I am submitting a resolution 
recognizing November as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. It is 
important for Americans to recognize the large number of individuals 
who are diagnosed with and die from lung cancer each year. This 
resolution is a reminder to all Americans to help raise awareness about 
lung cancer, including the importance of early detection and treatment 
of this dreadful disease.
  In the United States, nearly 125,000 Americans die from lung, 
trachea, and bronchus cancer each year. According to the Centers for 
Disease Control, CDC, lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer 
deaths nationally for men and women. More American women will die from 
lung cancer than die from breast cancer each year. The disease kills 
more individuals than breast, prostate, colon, liver, and kidney 
cancers combined. In my home state of Georgia this year alone, more 
than 6,200 Georgians will be diagnosed

[[Page S11076]]

with and almost 5,000 will die from lung cancer.
  The best way to decrease the amount of diagnosis and deaths per year 
from lung cancer is for Americans not to smoke. According to the CDC, 
cigarette smoking is harmful to human health and plays a major role in 
90 percent of all lung cancer deaths. The sooner that a person quits 
smoking, the greater chance that person has of not contracting lung 
cancer.
  For the fiscal year 2007, the National Institutes of Health, NIH, 
will spend an estimated $285 million, and the National Cancer 
Institute, NCI, will spend $261 million on lung cancer research. This 
money will be spent to reduce the risk of contracting the disease and 
find a cure for lung cancer. As our Nation continues the fight against 
cancer, it is important for Congress to provide continued support to 
the NIH and NCI in order to find a cure for this terrible disease and 
reach our goal of eliminating suffering and death from cancer by 2015. 
Through advancements in science and research, cancer has become one of 
the most preventable and increasingly curable life threatening 
diseases. As a cancer survivor, I will be the first to tell you that 
prevention and detection greatly increases your chances of survival. It 
is my hope that recognizing November as National Lung Cancer Awareness 
Month will remind everyone that maintaining a healthy lifestyle coupled 
with early detection through screening greatly reduces the risk of 
cancer.
  I commend the Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia on all of their hard 
work in helping to raise awareness regarding this deadly disease. The 
Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia has been at the forefront in organizing 
the state movement to combat lung cancer, releasing a state report card 
for Georgia that brings to light many specific problems our state has 
in relation to lung cancer. It is important to bring these problems to 
the forefront in order to work together to help reduce the rate of lung 
cancer incidence and deaths. I commend my friend Ed Levitt, his wife 
Linda, and Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia, for all of their hard work 
in making lung cancer awareness a top priority.

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