[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 151 (Monday, October 28, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN RECOGNITION OF INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RADIOLOGY

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                           HON. PETE SESSIONS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 28, 2013

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the International Day 
of Radiology, and draw attention to the vital role that diagnostic 
imaging and radiation therapy serve in the American health care system. 
The International Day of Radiology is observed annually on November 8--
an important date in medical and world history. On that day in 1895, 
Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays, which ultimately 
led to modern medical imaging and radiation therapy. This year, the 
118th anniversary of Roentgen's discovery, will focus on lung imaging, 
and be commemorated by many groups, including the American College of 
Radiology (ACR), the Radiological Society of North America and the 
European Society of Radiology.
   Radiologists (physicians with special training in imaging), 
radiation oncologists (physicians trained to treat cancer with 
radiation) and the imaging community continue to move medicine forward. 
Most recently, lung computed tomography (CT) scans were shown by 
clinical trials to significantly reduce lung cancer deaths among 
smokers. In response to the positive results generated from these 
trials, the ACR will issue CT lung cancer screening guidelines and 
standards. Nationwide, CT screening programs for lung cancer, including 
teams of health care providers from various medical specialties, will 
follow. These multidisciplinary screening programs will save tens of 
thousands of lives each year from the nation's leading cancer killer.
   Medical imaging has been shown to help lower many cancer and 
hospital mortality rates. A 2009 National Bureau of Economic Research 
(BEA) report found that individuals with greater access to imaging live 
longer than those with lesser access. Imaging exams also reduce the 
number of invasive surgeries, unnecessary hospital admissions and 
lengths of hospital stays, which can lower health care costs.
   The U.S. National Academy of Engineering recognized the tremendous 
contribution of medical imaging when it ranked imaging among the 20 
greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Most telling, 
the New England Journal of Medicine named medical imaging one of the 
top 10 medical advances of the last 1,000 years.
   With its incredible impact on patients' health, and significant 
benefit to the American health care system, I am pleased to recognize 
the importance of diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology, and call 
attention to November 8 as the International Day of Radiology.

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