[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17796]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

  (Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, November is Pancreatic 
Cancer Awareness Month, which is when we bring awareness to a disease 
that takes the lives of too many men and women.
  Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in men 
and the ninth most in women, but it is the fourth leading cause of 
cancer deaths. Sadly, it is estimated this year that 73 percent of 
patients with this disease will die within the first year of diagnosis.
  While these statistics are daunting, I believe that Pancreatic Cancer 
Awareness Month is a time for hope. It is a time when we stand up and 
call attention to this disease and when we call for more research to 
find better methods of early detection. It is a time to share the 
stories of those we have lost in the hope that they will help spur 
action and move us closer to more effective treatments.
  Mr. Speaker, pancreatic cancer patients and their families are among 
the countless Americans who are demanding that we fix sequestration, 
which has reduced funding for the National Institutes of Health and the 
National Cancer Institute and which has held back progress toward 
lifesaving medical research. It is critical that we all work together 
to fight this terrible disease.

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