[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 39 (Monday, October 4, 1993)]
[Pages 1938-1939]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6600--National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 1993

 September 30, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Breast cancer will affect an estimated 182,000 women in 1993. It 
accounts for nearly one-third of all cancers diagnosed in women, making 
it one of the most serious health problems we face in America today. 
Each year, we designate one month to focus public attention on where we 
as a Nation stand with regard to this disease. This October is National 
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it is appropriate that we pause to 
consider, not only the strategies we have developed to combat breast 
cancer, but also the progress we have made in our fight, even as we 
acknowledge the high toll it takes on so many lives.
    Breast cancer prevention research is playing an increasingly 
important role in our strategy to overcome this disease. Although we 
still have much to learn about what causes breast cancer, we do know 
that certain conditions or behaviors substantially increase a woman's 
risk of developing this disease. Some risks can be avoided, and 
researchers hope that others can be minimized. For this reason, the 
National Institutes of Health, through its component institutes--
especially the National Cancer Institute--has launched important studies 
to assess the extent to which changes in diet and the use of the drug 
tamoxifen, which is effective in treating breast cancer, can prevent the 
development of this disease in women who are at increased risk.
    The Woman's Health Trial is an exciting, innovative undertaking that 
aims to change dietary habits so that less fat is consumed and more 
fruits, vegetables, and fiber are added to our diet each day. There is 
some evidence to suggest a link between breast cancer and fat in the 
diet, at least for older women. What we hope to learn from this study is 
how best to help women change their eating habits and, thus, protect 
themselves, not only from breast cancer, but also from other cancers and 
conditions that are related to diet.
    While there is much to be said about this disease, one important 
message must reach everyone: Women should form a partnership with their 
health care providers for the early detection of breast cancer, a key 
component of our nationwide program to reduce the toll of this disease. 
Research has shown that screening mammography, used together on a 
regular basis with a clinical breast exam and monthly breast self-
examination, can reduce deaths from this disease by one-third or more 
for women over 50. I am pleased that the Federal Government has been a 
leader in authorizing payment for screening mammography for women 
enrolled in Federal health care programs. It is also reassuring that 
insurance companies have followed suit, recognizing that the benefits of 
early detection far outweigh its costs. As we look to create a health 
care system in America that works for all people, we must be certain 
that

[[Page 1939]]

we emphasize such preventative techniques as regular screening for 
breast cancer.
    We face a major public education challenge in breast cancer 
awareness. Every woman must be reassured that she can become a partner 
with the health care system in ensuring that should she develop breast 
cancer, it will be found and treated early. Through education programs, 
women come to understand what actions they can take to prevent cancer. 
To be sure, success depends on providing the public with understandable, 
credible messages--but that is only half of the story. Unless every 
woman can be assured access to affordable medical care, including 
mammography and physicians' services to help in the detection of small 
tumors, public education campaigns will not be effective.
    In spite of the best efforts of the health care community to 
encourage prevention and early detection, we know that thousands of 
women, nonetheless, will develop breast cancer, and many of them will 
die from it. Thus, the search to find effective treatments must 
continue, as must efforts to find effective therapies that have a 
minimal impact on the quality of a woman's life. We have come a long way 
from the time when extensive surgery was a woman's only treatment option 
for breast cancer. Lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy is a 
treatment approach that helps many women avoid disfiguring surgery. Many 
women now receive treatment with chemotherapy to shrink a tumor before 
surgery is done so that the breast can be spared; others receive 
chemotherapy after surgery to augment the primary treatment. While we 
still have much to learn, the rate at which our knowledge has increased 
is remarkable. We must build on past successes and continue our 
commitment to basic research. True progress will require that we not 
waver in this commitment.
    The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 95, has designated October 
1993 as ``National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1993 as 
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I invite the Governors of the 50 
States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Mayor of the District of 
Columbia, and the appropriate officials of all other areas under the 
American flag to issue similar proclamations. I also ask health care 
professionals, private industry, community groups, insurance companies, 
and all other interested organizations and individual citizens to unite 
to publicly reaffirm our Nation's continuing commitment to research and 
public education on breast cancer.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hands this thirtieth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 5:10 p.m., September 30, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
4.