[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56769-56770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24255]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 56769]]


                Proclamation 7342 of September 15, 2000

                
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers 
                affecting American women today. This year alone, 14,000 
                women will die from ovarian cancer, and more than 
                23,000 will be diagnosed with the disease. While 
                ovarian cancer is very treatable when detected early, 
                currently 75 percent of new cases are not diagnosed 
                until the disease is in its late stages of development, 
                when treatment is less effective. With early detection, 
                women have a survival rate of over 90 percent; 
                diagnosis in its later stages, however, dramatically 
                reduces the chances of survival to just 25 percent.

                Unfortunately, there is still no reliable and quick 
                screening test for ovarian cancer like the Pap smear 
                for cervical cancer or the mammogram for breast cancer. 
                In addition, its symptoms--such as abdominal discomfort 
                or bloating, cramps, unaccountable weight gain or loss, 
                abnormal bleeding--can often be mistaken for signs of 
                less serious conditions. Consequently, raising 
                awareness of risk factors for ovarian cancer is a 
                crucial weapon in our effort to save lives. While every 
                woman has the potential to develop ovarian cancer, the 
                risk is higher for those who have never given birth; 
                who are over the age of 50; or who have a family 
                history of ovarian, breast, or colon cancer.

                Research into the causes and treatment of ovarian 
                cancer still offers us the best hope for progress in 
                defeating this disease that has taken such a deadly 
                toll on American families. The National Cancer 
                Institute (NCI) is currently sponsoring a large-scale 
                cancer screening trial to explore, among other issues, 
                the usefulness of testing women's blood for abnormally 
                high levels of CA-125, a substance known as a tumor 
                marker, which is often discovered in higher than normal 
                amounts in the blood of women with ovarian cancer. 
                Researchers are also evaluating the effectiveness of 
                ultrasound testing as a tool for early detection. To 
                learn more about the genetic causes of ovarian cancer, 
                the NCI's Cancer Genetics Network has established 
                registries to track cancers within families to identify 
                possible inherited risks.

                As with every disease, knowledge is crucial to 
                overcoming ovarian cancer. Ovarian Cancer Awareness 
                Week offers us an invaluable opportunity to educate 
                Americans about the symptoms and risk factors of the 
                disease, to alert health care providers about the need 
                for vigilance in recognizing those symptoms and risks 
                early, and to promote increased funding for research 
                into more effective methods of diagnosis and treatment. 
                The more we know about ovarian cancer, the more women 
                and their families can live out their lives free from 
                the shadow of this devastating disease.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim September 17 through 
                September 23, 2000, as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Week. I 
                encourage the American people to observe this week with 
                appropriate ceremonies and activities that raise 
                awareness of the need for early diagnosis and treatment 
                of this deadly disease.

[[Page 56770]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-24255
Filed 9-18-00; 11:18 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P