III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 218 

Designating September 2005 as ‘‘National Prostate Cancer Awareness 

Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2005 

Mr. SESSIONS (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. 

BUNNING, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. HATCH, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CRAPO, 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. LOTT, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION

Designating September 2005 as ‘‘National Prostate Cancer 

Awareness Month’’.

Whereas countless families in the United States have a family 

member that suffers from prostate cancer; 

Whereas 1 in 6 men in the United States is diagnosed with 

prostate cancer; 

Whereas throughout the past decade, prostate cancer has 

been the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer other 

than skin cancer and the second most common cause of 

cancer-related deaths among men in the United States; 

Whereas, in 2005, more than 232,090 men in the United 

States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 30,350 
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men in the United States will die of prostate cancer according to estimates from the American Cancer Society; 

Whereas 30 percent of the new diagnoses of prostate cancer 

occur in men under the age of 65; 

Whereas a man in the United States turns 50 years old about 

every 14 seconds, increasing his odds of being diagnosed 

with prostate cancer; 

Whereas African American males suffer from prostate cancer 

at an incidence rate up to 65 percent higher than white 

males and at a mortality rate double that of white males; 

Whereas obesity is a significant predictor of the severity of 

prostate cancer and the chance that the disease will lead 

to death; 

Whereas if a man in the United States has 1 family member 

diagnosed with prostate cancer, he has double the risk of 

prostate cancer, if he has 2 family members with such diagnosis, he has 5 times the risk, and if he has 3 family 

members with such diagnosis, he has a 97 percent risk 

of prostate cancer; 

Whereas screening by both a digital rectal examination 

(DRE) and a prostate specific antigen blood test (PSA) 

can detect prostate cancer in earlier and more treatable 

stages and reduce the rate of mortality due to the disease; 

Whereas ongoing research promises further improvements in 

prostate cancer prevention, early detection, and treatments; and 

Whereas educating people in the United States, including 

health care providers, about prostate cancer and early detection strategies is crucial to saving the lives of men and 
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preserving and protecting our families: Now, therefore, be 

it

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates September 2005 as ‘‘National 

3 Prostate Cancer Awareness Month’’; 

4 (2) declares that it is critical to— 

5 (A) raise awareness about the importance 

6 of screening methods and the treatment of 

7 prostate cancer; 

8 (B) increase research funding to be pro9 portionate with the burden of prostate cancer 

10 so that the causes of the disease, improved 

11 screening and treatments, and ultimately a cure 

12 may be discovered; and 

13 (C) continue to consider methods to im14 prove both access to and the quality of health 

15 care services for detecting and treating prostate 

16 cancer; and 

17 (3) calls on the people of the United States, in18 terested groups, and affected persons to— 

19 (A) promote awareness of prostate cancer; 

20 (B) take an active role in the fight to end 

21 the devastating effects of prostate cancer on in22 dividuals, their families, and the economy; and 
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1 (C) observe September 2005 with appro2 priate ceremonies and activities.

Æ