[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 PROSTATE CANCER IS A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC

  (Mr. BUTTERFIELD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, prostate cancer is a national epidemic, 
the most common cancer in men. One in seven men will be diagnosed, with 
more than 220,000 new cases each year, and 28,000 men will die from 
prostate cancer this year. Prostate cancer, Mr. Speaker, 
disproportionately impacts African American men, who have the highest 
prostate cancer rates of any racial or ethnic group. Black men are 
twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, nearly 2\1/2\ 
times as likely to die from that disease.
  Last week, I introduced the National Prostate Cancer Plan Act along 
with Congressmen Mike McCaul, Elijah Cummings, and Walter Jones. The 
bill would establish the National Prostate Cancer Council and direct 
them to develop and implement a national strategic plan to accelerate 
the innovation of diagnostic tools to improve early detection and 
reduce unnecessary treatment.
  Prostate cancer can strike anyone. Many of us have either been 
personally affected by this disease or have lost a loved one. Enactment 
of this bill would be a giant step forward in our battle to combat this 
treatable disease so that men can live longer and healthier.
  My bill, Mr. Speaker, has been endorsed by the American Urological 
Association, American Medical Association, Prostate Cancer Foundation, 
ZERO, and PCRI.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort by 
cosponsoring H.R. 2730.

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