[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22885-22886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07188]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 65 / Wednesday, April 3, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 22885]]


                Proclamation 10717 of March 29, 2024

                
National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection 
                Month, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Cancer has touched nearly every American family. During 
                National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month, 
                we honor the enormous courage and strength of the 
                millions of Americans facing the disease today and of 
                the many millions of survivors, whose resilience 
                inspires us all. Together, we will end cancer as we 
                know it and get patients and families the quality care 
                and support that they deserve.

                In recent decades, we have made enormous progress 
                toward beating cancer. In addition to new medicines and 
                therapies, we have developed early detection methods 
                and discovered prevention measures that extend and save 
                lives. Studies have shown that over 30 percent of 
                cancers diagnosed today could be prevented through 
                methods like decreasing environmental and toxic 
                exposures to carcinogens and making lifestyle changes 
                like reducing tobacco use and improving nutrition. 
                Still, cancer is the second-leading cause of death in 
                our country.

                I came to office determined to change that. Beating 
                cancer is personal to my family, as it is to millions 
                of families across America and around the world. That 
                is why the First Lady and I re-ignited the Cancer 
                Moonshot. The goal is to cut the cancer death rate by 
                at least 50 percent in the next 25 years--starting by 
                preventing the cancers we know we can stop and catching 
                others as early as possible. We are also working to 
                turn more cancers from death sentences into chronic 
                diseases that people can live with and to create more 
                supportive experiences for patients and their families. 
                To help achieve that, I established the Advanced 
                Research Projects Agency for Health, securing $4 
                billion in bipartisan funding to date to help the 
                scientists, innovators, and public health professionals 
                who are working day and night to improve the 
                prevention, detection, and treatment of cancers and 
                other deadly diseases. We are not just working toward 
                incremental changes--we are looking for quantum leaps 
                forward.

                It is important for every American to know that cancer 
                screenings are lifesaving--early detection can make all 
                the difference in beating the disease. That is why my 
                Administration is working to ensure that every American 
                can get them. During my first year in office, we 
                expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which 
                requires insurers to pay for cancer screenings and 
                primary care visits. More Americans have insurance than 
                under any President, ensuring that millions of 
                Americans now have health coverage for those services 
                and more. My Administration is also helping millions of 
                families save an average of $800 per year on their 
                health insurance premiums. To increase access to early 
                detection, my Administration has partnered with 
                community health centers to provide screenings closer 
                to folks' homes, and we extended health care coverage 
                for lung cancer screenings. Further, we have closed 
                loopholes so that new stool-based screening tests and 
                follow-up screenings do not lead to surprise costs for 
                patients undergoing colonoscopies. Eliminating these 
                barriers to screenings will save and extend countless 
                lives. To learn your personal risk factors and know 
                which screenings are right for you, please talk to your 
                health care provider, visit cdc.gov/cancerscreening or 
                cancer.gov/screeningtests, or call 1-800-

[[Page 22886]]

                4-CANCER for more information. We encourage everyone to 
                schedule routine cancer screening appointments.

                At the same time, healthy life habits--like maintaining 
                a healthy body weight and reducing exposure to tobacco 
                smoke--can prevent certain cancers, so we are working 
                to help all Americans get and stay healthy. Our 
                National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health 
                supports expanding incentives to purchase fruits and 
                vegetables with SNAP, ensures more kids have access to 
                free and nutritious school lunches, and expands access 
                to nutrition and obesity counseling. For help with 
                quitting smoking--the leading cause of cancer in 
                America--visit SmokeFree.gov, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, or 
                text QUITNOW to 333888.

                My Administration is working to reduce Americans' 
                exposure to environmental toxins that can lead to 
                cancer. Through our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, my 
                Administration has invested billions of dollars to 
                clean up toxic sites and help States replace lead pipes 
                and service lines, protecting millions of families from 
                exposure to so-called ``forever chemicals'' and other 
                contaminants that increase people's risk of getting 
                cancer. I was also proud to sign the PACT Act, ensuring 
                that veterans exposed to toxic substances during their 
                military service get the cancer care and benefits that 
                they deserve.

                Ending cancer is the kind of big and ambitious goal 
                that America has always embraced. For the patients 
                fighting for a better day, the survivors who give us 
                strength, the caregivers who share their hearts, the 
                lives we have lost, and the lives we can save, let us 
                recommit to this vital work.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 
                2024 as National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection 
                Month. I encourage citizens, government agencies, 
                private businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other 
                interested groups to join in activities that will 
                increase awareness of what Americans can do to prevent, 
                detect, and beat cancer.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-07188
Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P