National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2012

Proclamation 8855 of August 31, 2012

National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Prostate cancer is among the most common cancers for
men living in the United States, and despite the
progress we have made in controlling it, the disease
continues to take a devastating toll on thousands of
lives every year. During National Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month, we remember those we have lost to
prostate cancer, and we renew our commitment to
preventing, detecting, and treating this terrible
illness.

While the causes of prostate cancer are still unknown,
men with certain risk factors may be more likely to
develop the disease. Most men who suffer from prostate
cancer are over the age of 65; those whose fathers,
brothers, or sons have had prostate cancer are also at
greater risk. Prostate cancer is especially prevalent
among African American men, who experience both the
highest incidence and the highest mortality rates of
prostate cancer. I encourage all men to visit
www.Cancer.gov to learn the warning signs of this
disease.

My Administration will continue to stand with men and
their families in the fight against prostate cancer. To
ensure patients are covered when they need it most, the
Affordable Care Act prevents insurers from placing
lifetime or restrictive annual dollar limits on
essential health benefits--and from dropping coverage
when people get sick. Beginning in 2014, the Act will
also help Americans get the services they need by
prohibiting insurance companies from discriminating
against people with pre-existing conditions. And to
advance the state of care for men with prostate cancer,
my Administration will continue to support promising
research that brings us closer to tomorrow's
groundbreaking therapies, treatments, and prevention
techniques.

Too many men will develop prostate cancer during their
lifetimes. As we mark National Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month, let us support the families who fight
alongside them, pay tribute to the professionals who
pursue the highest standards of care, and rededicate
ourselves to improving outcomes for prostate cancer
patients across our country.

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 2012 as
National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. I encourage
all citizens, government agencies, private businesses,
nonprofit 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
thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.