Text 4400, 92 rader
Skriven 2007-04-20 23:31:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070420) for Fri, 2007 Apr 20
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President Bush Signs the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early
Detection Program Reauthorization Act
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary April 20, 2007

President Bush Signs the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early
Detection Program Reauthorization Act Roosevelt Room

˙ Video (Windows) ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio ˙˙En Espa¤ol



10:32 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thanks; be seated. Welcome to the Roosevelt
Room. This morning I have the honor of signing a bill that will help
continue our nation's fight against breast and cervical cancer. This bill
reauthorizes the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection
Program. I want to thank the Congress for passing this bill. I appreciate
you all coming down to witness the signing of this important piece of
legislation.

Our family, like many families, has been touched by this issue. Laura's
mom, my mother-in-law, Jenna Welch, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the
age of 78. She is a fortunate person -- she had surgery, and nine years
later she is a cancer survivor, and we are thankful for that. As a result
of her mom's battle with cancer, Laura has devoted a lot of time and energy
to raising awareness about breast cancer through efforts like the pink
ribbon campaign. She managed to get me to wear pink. (Laughter.) I
appreciate Laura's good work, and I thank your good work, as well; thank
you for joining us.

I want to thank Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services. I
appreciate Senator Barbara Mikulski, from Maryland, who is a pioneer in a
bill such as this. And, Senator, when you get on an issue -- (laughter) --
you get things done, and we appreciate your leadership.

SENATOR MIKULSKI: Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: I thank Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, who is a bill sponsor,
as well as Congresswoman Sue Myrick; Sue is a cancer survivor. And we
appreciate both of your leadership on this issue. I thank members from my
administration for joining us, good to see you all.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for
American women. This year, an estimated 180,000 Americans will be diagnosed
with breast cancer -- 11,000 will be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Together, these two cancers are expected to claim the lives of more than
44,000 Americans in 2007.

Early detection allows early intervention and is the best way to increase
the chance for survival. Mammograms and pap tests and other screening
services can help doctors diagnose cancer before it has a chance to spread.
When breast cancer or cervical cancer is caught early, the survival rate is
more than 90 percent. Early detection makes treatment more effective, it
gives hopes to patients, and it saves lives.

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program has helped
millions of low-income and uninsured women get screened for cancer. This is
an effective program. Since its creation, the program has conducted nearly
7 million cancer screenings, it's diagnosed thousands of cases of breast
and cervical cancer, and it's helped educate women about the importance of
early detection. We expect that in 2007 this program will provide more than
700,000 screenings for low-income and uninsured women. The program is an
important part of this nation's fight against cancer, and the bill I'm
about to sign will continue this life-saving work.

I appreciate working with the United States Congress to fund breast and
cervical cancer research and prevention. The span of my administration, we
have spent, along with Congress, $6.7 billion. My budget for 2008 includes
another billion dollars for research and prevention activities. We'll
continue to work to ensure that every American woman has access to the
screenings she needs to detect the cancers in time to treat them.

Again, I want to thank the members of Congress for their hard work and
their dedication in passing this important piece of legislation. I
appreciate you all joining us to witness the bill signing ceremony. And
it's now my honor to sign the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early
Detection Program Reauthorization Act. (Laughter and applause.)

(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)

END 10:36 A.M. EDT
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