[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 418, which was 
submitted earlier today by Senators Sessions, Reid, and others.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 418) designating September 2004 as 
     ``National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month''.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 418) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 418

       Whereas countless families in the United States live with 
     prostate cancer;
       Whereas 1 in 6 men in the United States will be diagnosed 
     with prostate cancer in his lifetime;
       Whereas over the past decade, prostate cancer has been the 
     most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer and the second most 
     common cancer killer of men in the United States;
       Whereas over 230,000 men in the United States will be 
     diagnosed with prostate cancer and 29,900 men in the United 
     States will die of prostate cancer in 2004, according to 
     American Cancer Society estimates;
       Whereas 30 percent of new cases occur in men under the age 
     of 65;
       Whereas a man in the United States turns 50 years old about 
     every 14 seconds, increasing the occurrence of cancer and, 
     particularly, of prostate cancer;
       Whereas African-American males suffer a prostate cancer 
     incidence rate as much as 60 percent higher than White males 
     and have double the mortality rates;
       Whereas obesity is a significant predictor of prostate 
     cancer severity and death;
       Whereas if a man in the United States has 1 family member 
     diagnosed with prostate cancer, he has double the risk of 
     prostate cancer, if he has 2 family members with such 
     diagnosis, he has 5 times the risk, and if he has 3 family 
     members with such diagnosis, he has a 97-percent risk of 
     prostate cancer;
       Whereas screening by both digital rectal examination and 
     prostate specific antigen blood test can diagnose the disease 
     in earlier and more treatable stages and reduce prostate 
     cancer mortality;
       Whereas ongoing research promises to further improvements 
     in prostate cancer prevention, early detection, and 
     treatments; and
       Whereas educating people in the United States, including 
     health care providers, about prostate cancer and early 
     detection strategies is crucial to saving men's lives and 
     preserving and protecting families: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates September 2004 as ``National Prostate Cancer 
     Awareness Month'';
       (2) declares that the Federal Government has a 
     responsibility to--
       (A) raise awareness about the importance of screening 
     methods and treatment of prostate cancer;
       (B) increase research funding that is commensurate with the 
     burden of the disease so that the causes of prostate cancer, 
     and improved screening, treatments, and a cure for prostate 
     cancer, may be discovered; and
       (C) continue to consider ways for improving the access to, 
     and quality of, health care services for detecting and 
     treating prostate cancer; and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States, interested 
     groups, and affected persons to--
       (A) promote awareness of prostate cancer;
       (B) take an active role in the fight to end the devastating 
     affects of prostate cancer on individuals, their families, 
     and the economy; and
       (C) observe the month of September 2004 with appropriate 
     ceremonies and activities.

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