Cancer Control Month, 2000

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Part IV

The President

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Proclamation 7284--Cancer Control Month, 2000

Proclamation 7285--National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2000

Proclamation 7286--Census Day, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7284 of March 31, 2000

Cancer Control Month, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953, we
have learned much about the relationship between
genetics and cancer, and researchers have begun to
isolate and study genes whose alteration and
dysfunction may cause the disease. In the last decade,
increased understanding of cancer and growing public
awareness of its symptoms and risks have helped us to
reverse the upward trend in cancer rates in our Nation.
Cancer cases and death rates have declined slightly but
steadily in the United States; the 5-year survival rate
has improved for all cancers; and 8.4 million Americans
are now cancer survivors.

Despite these encouraging trends, this is no time for
complacency. Last year alone, more than 1 million
people were diagnosed with cancer, and more than
560,000 died from it. And cancer rates are still
disproportionately high among certain racial, ethnic,
and socioeconomic groups. That is why my Administration
remains committed to fighting this deadly disease in
every sector of our population. Since 1998, we have
boosted investment in biomedical research at the
National Institutes of Health by an unprecedented $4.1
billion, including a dramatic increase in funding for
the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the primary
Federal cancer research agency.

Early detection and preventative treatment remain the
best weapons we have in the battle against this
disease, and several promising initiatives at the NCI
will improve our effectiveness in both areas. The NCI
recently issued a ``Director's Challenge'' to spur
research nationwide into defining key genetic changes
that mark tumors as malignant or precancerous. This
information will improve the way tumors are classified
and lay the ground work for more precise molecular
diagnosis. The NCI is also developing and testing
molecular markers specific to certain cancers, as well
as working on new technologies to improve detection.
This research will help doctors to intervene early,
with minimally invasive procedures, to prevent the
disease from becoming full-blown.

Another powerful weapon in our crusade is information.
Better understanding of risk factors can help people
make smarter choices--like quitting smoking or
undergoing needed cancer screening. The Cancer
Information Service (CIS), a free education service
provided by the NCI, acts as the public's link to clear
and understandable cancer information. I encourage
Americans seeking information on the latest cancer
research and treatments to call CIS at 1-800-4-CANCER
or to access the NCI directly on the Internet at http://www.cancer.gov.

Finally, as we intensify our efforts to fight cancer,
we must ensure that no American is left behind. The NCI
is working to implement cancer control and prevention
programs in minority and underserved communities, as
well as to increase minority participation in clinical
trials and research. As a result of these efforts,
nearly 20 percent of the more than 20,000 patients now
entering clinical treatment trials are from an ethnic
minority group.

Investment in science and technology produced
tremendous progress in health care during the last
century. In this new century, we must reaffirm our
dedication to the research, information sharing, and
access to care that will help us ultimately win the
fight against cancer.

In 1938, the Congress of the United States passed a
joint resolution (52 Stat. 148; 36 U.S.C. 103)
requesting the President to issue an annual
proclamation declaring April as ``Cancer Control
Month.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 2000
as Cancer Control Month. I invite the Governors of the
50 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the appropriate
officials of all other areas under the American flag to
issue similar proclamations. I also call upon health
care professionals, private industry, community groups,
insurance and managed care companies, and all other
interested organizations and individuals to unite in
support of our Nation's determined efforts to control
cancer.

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