National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, 2016

Proclamation 9483 of September 1, 2016

National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

More than 10,000 children are diagnosed with cancer
each year. Although rare, pediatric cancer is the
leading disease-related cause of death among children.
As we invest in cutting-edge research and work to
advance medical treatments to beat childhood cancer,
each of us can help carry our vision of a cancer-free
future forward. Each September, we remember those who
lost their lives to cancer far too young and honor the
courageous children who bring unwavering strength and
optimism to their fight against cancer every single
day, and we refocus our efforts on striving to cure
cancer once and for all.

Cancer affects children of all ages, generally without
a known cause. Over the last half-century, as cancer
research and treatment has advanced, the outlook for
children with cancer has greatly improved. We have
witnessed tremendous improvements in overall survival
rates, and a larger number of long-term survivors now
look forward to longer life expectancies.
Unfortunately, many face chronic health challenges or
complications after they beat their cancer. As a
Nation, we must recognize that there is more we must do
to better understand and treat pediatric cancer.

My Administration continues to invest in the critical
research we need to defeat this devastating disease. In
2014, I signed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research
Act, which established the 10-Year Pediatric Research
Initiative Fund and has already helped divert millions
of dollars every year to advancing childhood cancer
research. Through our Precision Medicine Initiative--a
bold research effort to revolutionize our approach to
treating diseases by personalizing treatment based on
specific genetic characteristics--we are already making
powerful discoveries for cancer patients and looking to
transform the ways we treat many types of cancer. And
earlier this year, I tasked Vice President Joe Biden
with leading a new national effort to fight cancer. The
White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force--a collaborative
effort to make a decade's worth of progress in
preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer in just 5
years--is working toward an ultimate goal of
eliminating cancer as we know it.

To give children with cancer the care they need and
reduce the financial burden that falls on their
families, we have worked to provide quality, affordable
health care to all people. The Affordable Care Act
(ACA) has helped millions of Americans access medical
care and enabled them to receive regular checkups,
which can help detect cancer. Many children's cancer
centers participate in clinical trials, which are
partly responsible for much of the progress we have
made in advancing treatment of childhood cancer; under
the ACA, insurers can no longer drop or limit coverage
because of participation in one of these trials. The
ACA eliminated annual and lifetime limits on insurance
coverage, and because the law prevents insurance
companies from denying or limiting coverage for pre-
existing conditions, children diagnosed with cancer now
have a better chance at a healthy life.

During National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, let
us tell the stories of the brave children who battle
cancer every day and thank the loved

ones, health care professionals, and communities who
lift them up. Let us renew our commitment to prevent,
treat, and cure childhood cancer, and together ensure
that all children can experience the full and healthy
upbringing they deserve.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 2016 as
National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage
all citizens, government agencies, private businesses,
non-profit organizations, and other groups to join in
activities that will increase awareness and prevention
of childhood cancer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.