Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 68427 

Proclamation 10635 of September 29, 2023 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Cancer touches nearly every family in America, including mine. That is 

why finding cures and addressing the needs of patients and their families 

is a central pillar of my Unity Agenda, as I discussed in my very first 

State of the Union address—it is the kind of goal that can unite us all 

as Americans, regardless of our differences. This National Breast Cancer 

Awareness Month, let us all recommit to the work of ending cancer as 

we know it. May we honor those we have lost, offer strength to those 

who continue to live with breast cancer, and work to protect the health 

of future generations. 

Nearly 300,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 

one in eight women in America will be diagnosed with the disease in 

their lifetimes. We have made enormous progress in our decades-long fight 

against cancer—discovering new prevention and early-detection measures 

and exploring medicines and therapies to extend and save lives. Despite 

these advancements, a breast cancer diagnosis is not only frightening but 

also a doorway into a confusing world of appointments, procedures, and 

expenses. While facing months of grueling treatments, breast cancer patients 

and their families are flooded with a bewildering amount of medical information to decipher and often have to advocate to receive basic care and attention. 

On top of these stresses, they also worry about paying their medical bills. 

That is why the First Lady and I reignited the Cancer Moonshot and set 

ambitious goals to cut the overall cancer death rate by at least half in 

the next 25 years, transform more cancers from death sentences into treatable 

diseases, and improve the treatment experience for patients and their families. 

As a first step toward realizing these goals, I established the Advanced 

Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA–H) and secured $2.5 billion 

in bipartisan funding to drive scientific breakthroughs in prevention, detection, and treatment for cancer and other diseases. The agency is pioneering 

partnerships to help disseminate the impact of those breakthroughs to clinics 

and patients. And recently, it announced research into the use of mRNA 

technology, an innovative component of the COVID–19 vaccine, to train 

our own immune systems to fight cancer and other diseases. It will also 

lead the exploration of novel technologies to enhance the precision and 

accuracy of surgical procedures involved in removing cancerous tumors 

from the body. Also, the first class of Moonshot scholars has been selected, 

which will help build a cancer research workforce that better represents 

the diversity of America and prepare a new wave of innovators in the 

cancer field. 

Improving treatment options is only part of the fight. We also need to 

make those treatments affordable for everyone who needs them. That is 

why I made it a priority for the Inflation Reduction Act to cap out-ofpocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per year—including 

expensive cancer drugs. My Administration has also strengthened Medicaid 

and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to expand and protect health care coverage, saving nearly 15 million Americans $800 per year on health insurance 

premiums. 


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68428 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

Because screening and early detection are critical to saving the lives of 

breast cancer patients, my Administration remains committed to maintaining 

and improving the accessibility of cancer care secured in the ACA. This 

means requiring insurers to pay for cancer screenings—including mammograms—as well as maintaining coverage for cancer survivors and others 

who have preexisting conditions. In addition, we are doubling our investment 

and making new alliances with community health centers that provide early 

detection and support services to underserved communities. Most recently, 

we also expanded access to breast cancer screenings for any veteran exposed 

to burn pits—regardless of their age or family history. 

More information is available online at cancer.gov/types/breast or by calling 

1–800–422–6237 to reach information specialists at the National Cancer 

Institute, who can answer cancer-related questions in English and Spanish. 

Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and 

Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast cancer screenings 

and diagnostic services to those with low incomes who are uninsured or 

otherwise qualify for the program—learn more at cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/ 

screenings.htm. 

For the lives we can save and those we have lost, let this National Breast 

Cancer Awareness Month be a moment of unity that rallies the country 

to end cancer as we know it. Together, we can give patients, survivors, 

and their families the care, hope, and support they deserve. 

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 October 2023 as 

National Breast 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 control breast cancer and pay tribute to those who 

have lost their lives to this disease. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, 

and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22230 

Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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