National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2024

Proclamation 10798 of August 30, 2024

National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2024

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Too many Americans know the grief of losing a father,
son, brother, or friend to prostate cancer. Nearly
300,000 American men get diagnosed with this terrible
disease and over 35,000 people lose their lives to it,
making prostate cancer the second leading cause of
cancer death for men. This National Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month, we mourn all the courageous men we
have tragically lost too soon to prostate cancer. We
honor the extraordinary resilience of those currently
living with and surviving this disease. And we thank
the families who tirelessly support their loved ones
every step of the way.

Despite the enormous strides made over the last few
decades in fighting and treating prostate cancer,
challenges persist. Far too many men--approximately one
in every eight--will be diagnosed in their lifetime.
Furthermore, the disease disproportionately affects
Black and Hispanic men. And too many patients and their
families are left to decipher complex medical
information alone, are saddled with the overwhelming
cost of treatment, and are forced to advocate for
effective medical care for their loved ones.

I came into office committed to putting our country's
best minds and resources toward ending cancer as we
know it. Toward that aim, I reignited the Cancer
Moonshot with the goal of cutting the cancer death rate
by at least 50 percent over 25 years. I secured $4
billion in bipartisan funding for the Advanced Research
Projects Agency for Health to pioneer new breakthroughs
in preventing, detecting, and treating cancer and other
life-threatening diseases. The Departments of Defense
and Veterans Affairs expanded research efforts to
provide more service members and veterans facing
prostate cancer with the opportunity to participate in
clinical studies to learn about this disease and
develop new treatment approaches. And the National
Institutes of Health is funding groundbreaking research
to better treat prostate cancer in the early stages and
help people with prostate cancer live longer, healthier
lives.

I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.
That is why my Administration is working to ensure that
every American has free access to a doctor by expanding
and strengthening coverage under the Affordable Care
Act, Medicaid, and Medicare. Now, millions of Americans
have access to free cancer screenings and primary care
visits, and millions of families are saving
approximately $800 per year on their health insurance
premiums. I also signed the Inflation Reduction Act,
which will soon cap total out-of-pocket prescription
drug costs for people on Medicare at $2,000 per year,
which could save beneficiaries with prostate cancer
thousands per year. Additionally, we are making cancer
navigation resources, which guide families through the
diagnosis and treatment process, more accessible--from
transportation to the hospital to determining how to
pay for the exorbitant health care costs. I am proud
that, since I took office, millions of Americans have
gained access to these critical services for the first
time.

During National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we are
reminded that early detection and screening are
critical to beating prostate cancer. Experts recommend
that men--especially those at high risk for cancer--
discuss

screening for prostate cancer with their doctors. This
month and every month, let us come together and
recommit to finally ending cancer as we know it--for
all the lives we have tragically lost and the lives we
can still save.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 September 2024
as National Prostate Cancer Awareness 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
and cure prostate cancer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of August, 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-
ninth.