[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 38 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Page 2110]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7342--Ovarian Cancer Awareness Week, 2000

 September 15, 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.
     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.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:18 a.m., September 
18, 2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
September 19. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.