Presidential Documents

52005

Federal Register

Vol. 62, No. 193

Monday, October 6, 1997

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7029 of October 1, 1997

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Every year we dedicate the month of October to focus on breast cancer

and to reaffirm our national commitment to eradicate it. But for thousands

of American women and their families and friends, breast cancer is a devastating reality that casts a shadow over their lives every day. In this decade

alone, nearly half a million women will die of breast cancer, and more

than 1.5 million new cases of the disease will be diagnosed.

Our greatest weapon in the crusade against breast cancer is knowledge;

knowledge of its causes and knowledge about prevention and treatment.

My Administration has established a National Action Plan on Breast Cancer

to unite organizations across the country in a collaborative effort to find

out more about the disease and how best to respond to it.

The Department of Health and Human Services is taking the lead in this

national effort, through education and research at the National Cancer Institute and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; through nationwide

screening and detection programs at the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention; through certification of mammography facilities by the Food

and Drug Administration; through prevention services and treatment by

health benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid; and through increased access to clinical treatment trials for cancer patients who are beneficiaries in Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs programs. The Department of Defense has also initiated a breast cancer research

program to reduce the incidence of breast cancer, increase survival rates,

and improve the quality of life for women diagnosed with the disease.

We can be proud of the progress we have made. One of the most promising

recent research achievements is our increased understanding of the role

of genetics in the cancer process. We have learned that cancer is a disease

of altered genes and altered gene function, and research into the relationship

between breast cancer and genes is helping us to better understand the

basis of the disease. However, we must ensure that progress in genetic

information is used only to advance and to improve the Nation’s health—

not as a basis for discrimination. That is why this year I have urged the

Congress to pass a law that prevents health insurance plans from discriminating against individuals on the basis of genetic information.

High-quality mammography has also proved to be a powerfully effective

tool in the effort to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage.

The National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and many other

professional organizations agree that women in their forties benefit from

mammography screening, and earlier this year I was pleased to sign legislation that will help Medicare beneficiaries with cost-sharing for annual screening mammograms. The First Lady has also launched an annual campaign

to encourage older women to use the Medicare mammography screening

benefits.
52006 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 193 / Monday, October 6, 1997 / Presidential Documents

We have real cause for celebration during National Breast Cancer Awareness

Month this year: recent data show that the breast cancer rate for American

women is declining. Heartened by this knowledge, let us reaffirm our commitment to the crusade against breast cancer. Let us ensure that all women

know about the dangers of breast cancer, are informed about the lifesaving

potential of early detection, receive recommended screening services, and

have access to health care services and information. Let us continue to

move research forward to improve treatments and find a cure for this disease.

Working together, we can look forward to the day when our mothers, wives,

daughters, sisters, and friends can live long, healthy lives, free from the

specter of breast cancer.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution

and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 1997 as National

Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I call upon government officials, businesses,

communities, health care professionals, educators, volunteers, and all the

people of the United States to reflect on the progress we have made in

advancing our knowledge about breast cancer and to publicly reaffirm our

national commitment to controlling and curing this disease.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of

October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and

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

[FR Doc. 97–26557

Filed 10–3–97; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

and twenty-second.

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