[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL MEN'S HEALTH WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 13, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 20th 
Anniversary of National Men's Health Week from June 9-15, 2014.
  Men's Health Week is a time to focus attention and heighten awareness 
of preventable health problems affecting men and boys and encourage 
early detection and treatment.
  On May 24, 1994, Congress passed S.J. Res. 179, a joint resolution 
establishing National Men's Health Week (NMHW). The joint resolution 
was signed into law (Pub. L. 103-264) by President William Jefferson 
Clinton on May 31, 1994.
  Men's Health Month is celebrated across the country with screenings, 
health fairs, media appearances, and other health education and 
outreach activities.
  I encourage all men, young and older, and their families, to develop 
positive and proactive attitudes toward health and wellness, engage in 
preventive behaviors, lead healthy lifestyles, and seek timely medical 
advice and care.
  Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, afflicting 1 out of 
every 11 American men and killing 34,000 men every year.
  For African-American men, the rate of affliction is even worse; 
African-American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in 
the world.
  In the past 5 years, the death rate for prostate cancer has grown at 
almost twice the death rate of breast cancer.
  National Men's Health Network has encouraged the development of 
thousands of health awareness activities as corporations, hospital 
systems, clinics, faith-based communities, the public sector, and 
others use the month of June to highlight their services and reach out 
to men and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, much progress has been made in the past 20 years with 
improvements in the health and well-being of men and boys, with a 
dramatic improvement in life expectancy and surprising drops in key 
mortality indicators.
  There has been a steep drop among males in overall mortality, and 
corresponding improvements in the mortality rates for cancer and 
cardiovascular diseases.
  Our goal this month should be to raise awareness about men's health 
in our communities and to support National Men's Health Week and to 
rededicate ourselves to providing support for our men by further 
educating ourselves and our communities on Men's Health and effects.
  Recognizing and preventing men's health problems is not just a man's 
issue because it impacts wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters.
  Men's health is truly a family issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in the recognition of 
National Men's Health Week, and ask all Americans to take time this 
month to find out what you can do to help the growing population of the 
men around you.

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