[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Page 415]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7276--National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, 2000

February 29, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related 
deaths in the United States. Estimates show that physicians will 
diagnose approximately 130,000 new cases of colorectal cancer this year, 
and, of those persons diagnosed, more than 56,000 will die from the 
disease. Colorectal cancer takes such a deadly toll because it usually 
has no identifiable symptoms and often goes undetected until it is too 
late to treat.
    Our most effective weapon in defeating colorectal cancer is early 
detection and treatment. Through a regular screening program that 
includes fecal blood testing, periodic partial or full colon 
examinations, or both, health professionals can detect and remove pre-
cancerous polyps before they turn into cancer. Such cancer screening 
should become a routine part of preventive health care for anyone over 
the age of 50, because the risk of developing colorectal cancer 
increases with age. Individuals with a personal or family history of 
inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer or polyps, or ovarian, 
endometrial, or breast cancer are also at a higher risk for developing 
colorectal cancer.
    We can draw hope from the progress that is being made in colorectal 
cancer research. The National Cancer Institute of the National 
Institutes of Health recently launched a large research study to test 
two of the most promising drugs to treat colorectal cancer, and new 
technologies are giving us more powerful tools to increase the ease and 
accuracy of colorectal screening. By continuing to support such 
research, raising awareness of risk factors for the disease, promoting 
the widespread adoption of regular screening, and encouraging everyone 
to exercise regularly, we can save thousands of lives each year and 
dramatically reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
    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 March 
2000 as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage health 
care providers, advocacy groups, policymakers, and concerned citizens 
across the country to help raise public awareness of the risks and 
methods of prevention of colorectal cancer and to use the power of our 
knowledge to defeat this silent disease.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., March 1, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
2.