[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         CHILDHOOD CANCER MONTH

  (Mrs. MORELLA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, September is Childhood Cancer Month.
  Unfortunately, today cancer is the number one disease killer of 
children. This devastation knows no boundaries. It cuts across all 
social, economic and ethnic groups.
  This year alone, an estimated 12,400 children will be diagnosed with 
cancer and 2,300 will die from the disease.
  Despite the advances in early detection and treatment, only two-
thirds of children diagnosed with cancer survive. And data shows that 
the incidence of cancer among children has increased 20 percent over 
the past 20 years.
  So this must stop.
  Even though the majority of children's leukemia are now curable, 
mortality is still substantial among children with solid tumors.
  The progress in medical research in childhood cancer should be 
celebrated, but much more work needs to be done in pediatric cancer 
research.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, childhood cancer still remains an 
underrecognized and underserved need.
  The time to change is now. Our children are our future.

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