[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 195 (Friday, October 7, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62285-62286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26143]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 195 / Friday, October 7, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 62285]]


                Proclamation 8724 of October 3, 2011

                
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 2011

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This month, pink ribbons will be displayed around our 
                country, adorning jackets and public spaces alike. A 
                sign of solidarity, these ribbons remind us of our 
                commitment to preventing and treating breast cancer, 
                and to supporting those courageously battling this 
                disease. Countless Americans will participate in events 
                to raise awareness alongside survivors and their 
                families, working together to support research that 
                will save lives.

                We have come far in recent decades in the prevention, 
                early detection, and treatment of breast cancer. Still, 
                this year, hundreds of thousands of women will be 
                diagnosed with breast cancer, and too many will be 
                lost. African-American women bear a particularly large 
                burden, experiencing higher death rates from breast 
                cancer than other racial or ethnic groups in the United 
                States. Too many men also develop and fall victim to 
                this cancer.

                It is important to understand the risks and precautions 
                associated with breast cancer. Some risk factors, like 
                obesity, are avoidable. Other factors, like family 
                history, are not avoidable, but knowledge of them can 
                help inform medical decisions. Taking protective steps 
                like getting regular check-ups, maintaining a healthy 
                body weight and balanced diet, and exercising may help 
                lower the chances of developing breast cancer. I 
                encourage all Americans to talk to their doctors about 
                breast cancer, and to visit www.Cancer.gov to learn 
                more about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

                Screening and early detection are essential to fighting 
                this disease, yet only about two-thirds of American 
                women over 40 have had a mammogram in the last 2 years. 
                But now, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, all 
                Americans joining new health-care plans can receive 
                recommended preventive services, including annual 
                mammograms for women over 40, with no out-of-pocket 
                costs. This new benefit would also ensure that women in 
                new insurance plans who are at high risk for breast 
                cancer are covered when they speak with their 
                clinicians about ways to prevent or delay the 
                development of cancer. The Affordable Care Act also 
                established a committee tasked with advancing awareness 
                and prevention of breast cancer among young women.

                This month, we join together in honoring the women and 
                men lost to breast cancer. In their memory, we recommit 
                to supporting the hard-working researchers, health-care 
                providers, advocates, and organizations dedicated to 
                treating and curing this devastating disease. We 
                embrace our mothers, daughters, sisters, and loved ones 
                currently battling breast cancer, along with their 
                friends and families, and we resolve to one day defeat 
                it.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim October 2011 as 
                National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage 
                citizens, government agencies, private businesses, 
                nonprofit organizations, and all other interested 
                groups to join in activities that will increase 
                awareness of what Americans can do to prevent and 
                control breast cancer.

[[Page 62286]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                third day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth. 
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-26143
Filed 10-6-11; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P