National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2014

Proclamation 9159 of August 29, 2014

National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among
American men. They are fathers, brothers, and sons--and
this year, more than 230,000 of them are expected to be
diagnosed with this disease. During National Prostate
Cancer Awareness Month, we honor all those whose lives
have been touched by this disease, and we renew our
commitment to reducing its devastating impact through
more effective prevention, detection, and treatment.

Since the mid-1990s, the mortality rate for prostate
cancer has fallen, but too many men--an estimated
29,000 this year--will die from this disease, and even
more are at risk. Increased awareness can help these
men make informed choices about their health. While the
exact causes of prostate cancer remain unknown, medical
research has identified well-established risk factors
with which men should be familiar, including age,
family history, and race. I encourage all men,
especially those at higher risk, to talk with their
doctors about how prostate cancer could affect them.

My Administration continues to invest in critical
research to help better prevent this disease and treat
it with fewer side effects, and to further our
understanding of the disproportionate impact prostate
cancer has on African-American men. As part of the
Affordable Care Act, more options for quality,
affordable health coverage are available and new
protections are in place, expanding access to life-
saving care for millions of Americans, including those
impacted by prostate cancer. Insurance companies can no
longer deny coverage due to a pre-existing condition,
such as cancer, or deny participation in an approved
clinical trial for any life-threatening disease. And
men fighting prostate cancer are no longer faced with
annual or lifetime dollar limits on coverage that could
disrupt their treatments.

Even as we continue the urgent work of improving care,
too many lives will be disrupted and too many families
will experience the pain of prostate cancer. But we
must remain steadfast in our commitment to ease the
burden of this disease, and every day we must continue
to work toward a future free from cancer in all its
forms.

This month, as we come together to raise awareness
about prostate cancer, we remember those we lost to
this disease. Let us support the patients who continue
to battle this cancer each day and the families who
stand by their side, and recognize the tireless work of
our Nation's health care providers, researchers, and
advocates.

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 2014 as
National Prostate 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 prostate cancer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.