[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 25 (Friday, February 15, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I introduced a resolution to
designate March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I want
to thank Senators Lautenberg, Menendez, and Enzi for introducing a
similar resolution in the Senate. I also want to thank the entire New
Jersey delegation and all those who signed on to this bipartisan
resolution.
This issue is very personal to me, as I lost my father, the late
Congressman Donald Payne, Sr., to colon cancer just last March. It
became my mission to raise awareness of the importance of cancer
screening.
While colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable forms of
cancer, it remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the
United States. In New Jersey alone, 1,600 people will die of this
disease this year.
African Americans and Hispanics are at increased risk. Too many
people forego screenings because of the perceptions around testing. But
I am here to tell you: be a man; get tested. You just might save your
own life.
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