[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 160 (Tuesday, November 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PROMOTING AWARENESS OF PANCREATIC CANCER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 12, 2013

  Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to promote awareness of the 
growing concern for one of the deadliest cancers in America--Pancreatic 
cancer.
  Some of you may not know, but the threat of Pancreatic cancer is 
growing in the United States. Pancreatic cancer is not only one of the 
deadliest cancers, but it's the 4th leading cause of cancer death for 
both men and women in the United States.
  It is estimated that in 2013, 45,220 Americans will be diagnosed with 
Pancreatic cancer and 38,460 will die from this disease; while overall 
cancer incidence and death rates are declining, the incidence of 
Pancreatic cancer and death rate due to this cancer have been 
increasing. According to a recent report issued by the Pancreatic 
Cancer Action Network, Pancreatic cancer is expected to become the 
second leading cause of cancer death in the United States by 2020.
  In my home state of New York, the projection of Pancreatic cancer 
deaths in 2013 is 2,500. Specifically, in Kings County, which is where 
my congressional district is located, there have been on average 256 
deaths per year between 2006 and 2010. This information is particularly 
troubling to me and underscores the fact that we need to put forth more 
effort to support cancer research.
  The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act was signed into law on January 
2, 2013. This law calls on the National Cancer Institute, also known as 
NCI, to develop scientific frameworks for Pancreatic and Lung cancer, 
which will help provide the strategic direction needed to make true 
progress in these deadly cancers.
  Although we enacted this piece of legislation, our work is far from 
over. Pancreatic cancer statistics call for aggressive measures NOW to 
develop early detection and treatment tools before incidences of the 
disease dramatically increase--but NCI funding is falling dangerously 
behind. In fact, over the last decade the National Institutes of Health 
has lost approximately 20% of its purchasing power because funding has 
not kept pace with the rate of biomedical inflation. Added to that, the 
NCI budget was cut by 5.8%, largely as a result of sequestration.
  As members of Congress, we can give current and future Pancreatic 
cancer patients a fighting chance by ensuring that the provisions of 
the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act are fully implemented and provide 
sustained, adequate funding for the National Institutes of Health and 
the National Cancer Institute.
  We cannot have success in fighting diseases like Pancreatic cancer if 
research funding levels do not improve. So, I stand here today to urge 
my colleagues to support cancer research and ensure that the provisions 
of the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act are fully implemented.

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