[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 95 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H4149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           PANCREATIC CANCER

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, the medical research 
community has made great strides in treating cancer. However, not every 
form of cancer has shown the same progress. Some forms remain just as 
deadly as they were decades ago.
  Among the deadliest is pancreatic cancer, with a survival rate of 
only 6 percent. By comparison, the survival rate of all forms of cancer 
is now 68 percent, up from 49 percent in 1975. Last year, Congress 
passed and the President signed the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, a 
bill to focus research on pancreatic cancer and other problematic types 
of the disease.
  With new plans to attack the disease and new resources, we can make 
progress. I met recently with a constituent who is battling the disease 
and with another who has lost multiple family members to it, and they 
have hope despite the tough road ahead.
  With newly focused work, we will hopefully see new therapies and new 
drugs attack pancreatic cancer in the coming years, greatly improving 
the rate of survival.

                          ____________________