National Cancer Control Month, 2023

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 20363-20365]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2023-07310]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 2023 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 20363]]

Proclamation 10542 of March 31, 2023

National Cancer Control Month, 2023

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Cancer has touched nearly every American family, and it

remains the second leading cause of death in the United

States. During National Cancer Control Month, we call

on all Americans to join our movement to end cancer as

we know it. By raising awareness of the risk factors,

promoting life-saving regular screenings, investing in

research, and expanding access to affordable treatment,

we can give patients, survivors, and their families the

hope and new beginnings they deserve.

We have made enormous progress in the half-century

since our country first declared war on cancer. We have

learned it is not a single disease but, in fact, over

200 different types of cancers caused by different

genetic mutations. We have discovered life-saving

prevention and early detection measures, new medicines,

and innovative therapies, slashing the death rate by a

third since 1991. But despite all that progress, cancer

still claims the lives of over 600,000 Americans a

year

ncers caused by different

genetic mutations. We have discovered life-saving

prevention and early detection measures, new medicines,

and innovative therapies, slashing the death rate by a

third since 1991. But despite all that progress, cancer

still claims the lives of over 600,000 Americans a

year. And for many communities of color, the mortality

rates are far worse, with Black Americans facing the

highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group

for all cancers combined and for most major cancers.

Patients and their loved ones are still overwhelmed by

a flood of unfamiliar information; worried about how

they will pay for treatment; and awash in bewilderment,

frustration, and fear. And those who have lost someone

have often lost a piece of their soul.

I am more confident than ever, though, that we can

change things. Last year, as part of the Unity Agenda

that I outlined during my State of the Union Address,

the First Lady and I reignited the Cancer Moonshot

initiative that President Barack Obama first asked me

to lead in 2016. We have set a new goal to cut

America's cancer death rate by half in the next 25

years, turning more cancers from death sentences into

treatable diseases and creating a more supportive

experience for patients and families. As a first step,

I established the Advanced Research Projects Agency for

Health, securing $2.5 billion in bipartisan funding

from the Congress to develop breakthroughs in

preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer and other

deadly diseases

g a more supportive

experience for patients and families. As a first step,

I established the Advanced Research Projects Agency for

Health, securing $2.5 billion in bipartisan funding

from the Congress to develop breakthroughs in

preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer and other

deadly diseases. This will pioneer partnerships to get

those breakthroughs to the clinic. Additionally, I

signed an Executive Order that will require

biotechnology to be made in America, preserving access

to lifesaving medications and making sure we lead the

world in biotech innovation.

Improving treatment options is only part of the fight--

we also need to make those treatments more affordable

for everyone. To that end, the American Rescue Plan

expanded the Affordable Care Act, which requires

insurers to pay for cancer screenings and primary care

visits and to cover cancer survivors and others who

have preexisting conditions. We are working to make

sure insurers cover patient navigation services, too,

to help patients, caregivers, and families through

screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survival.

Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act will cap out-of-

pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per

year. This is a gamechanger for cancer patients in

particular, whose medicines can currently cost seven

times that. And the Honoring our PACT Act is ensuring

that veterans exposed

[[Page 20364]]

to cancer-causing toxic substances during their

military service get the health care and benefits that

they have earned.

mechanger for cancer patients in

particular, whose medicines can currently cost seven

times that. And the Honoring our PACT Act is ensuring

that veterans exposed

[[Page 20364]]

to cancer-causing toxic substances during their

military service get the health care and benefits that

they have earned.

More than a third of all cancer cases are preventable,

so my Administration is working to reduce people's

exposure to risk factors. That starts with tackling the

top cause of cancer deaths in this country: smoking.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed rules to

ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, which could

prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths. For help

quitting or avoiding smoking in the first place, visit

SmokeFree.gov, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, or text QUITNOW to

333888.

We are also making it easier for Americans to adopt

healthy eating and exercise habits, which have been

shown to lower cancer risk. Our national strategy to

end hunger seeks to provide healthy, free school meals

to millions of kids; boost Medicaid and Medicare

coverage for things like nutrition and obesity

counseling; and make fruits and vegetables more

affordable for low-income families.

have been

shown to lower cancer risk. Our national strategy to

end hunger seeks to provide healthy, free school meals

to millions of kids; boost Medicaid and Medicare

coverage for things like nutrition and obesity

counseling; and make fruits and vegetables more

affordable for low-income families.

Because detecting cancer early can increase survival,

we urge all Americans to catch up on routine screening

appointments they may have missed during the pandemic

and to encourage loved ones to do the same. In the last

year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

issued more than $200 million in grants to support

cancer screening in every State, many United States

territories, and Tribal Nations. The Department of

Health and Human Services is helping community health

centers improve access to early detection, too. To

learn which screenings are right for you, talk to your

health care provider, visit cdc.gov/cancerscreeningorcancer.gov/screeningtests, or call 1-

800-4-CANCER.

The fight against cancer is personal to so many

families, including ours. It is one of the reasons I

ran for President. And it is something big that we can

all do together. Cancer does not care if you are

Republican or Democrat--we need everyone in the game.

We need the scientific and medical communities,

bringing their boldest thinking. We need the private

sector, testing new treatments and sharing more

knowledge. We need people living with cancer,

survivors, caregivers, and families, whose absolute

courage this work is all about

veryone in the game.

We need the scientific and medical communities,

bringing their boldest thinking. We need the private

sector, testing new treatments and sharing more

knowledge. We need people living with cancer,

survivors, caregivers, and families, whose absolute

courage this work is all about. For the lives we can

save and those we have lost, let this be a truly

American moment that rallies the country and the world

together to end cancer as we know it and to cure some

cancers for good.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of

the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April

2023 as National Cancer Control 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, detect, treat, and control

cancer.

[[Page 20365]]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

thirty-first day of March, 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-

seventh.

(Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-07310

Filed 4-4-23; 11:15 am]

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