Presidential Document2023-24501
National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, 2023
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 3, 2023
Signed
October 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75465-75467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24501]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 75465]]
Proclamation 10666 of October 31, 2023
National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
This year, nearly 250,000 Americans will be diagnosed
with lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in
the United States. During National Lung Cancer
Awareness Month, we honor the resilient people who have
faced this diagnosis, the loved ones who rally to their
side, and the medical professionals who do all they can
to help patients survive and heal. We recommit to
ending cancer as we know it by investing in new,
affordable ways to prevent, detect, and treat this
deadly disease.
In recent years, improved treatments, as well as
enhanced early detection, have brought us closer toward
turning cancer diagnoses from death sentences into
treatable diseases. However, challenges persist for
patients and their families. It can be challenging to
determine the best course of treatment. The treatment
itself can be grueling. Medical bills can pile up. For
some, progress is still too slow. This includes Black
men, who are disproportionately likely to develop and
die from lung cancer; people living in rural
communities, where mortality rates remain stubbornly
high; and women under 50 years old, who are diagnosed
with lung cancer at higher rates than men of the same
age.
As a Nation, we must come together to change that. That
is why the First Lady and I reignited the Cancer
Moonshot, setting ambitious goals to cut the cancer
death rate by at least half in the next 25 years and
improve the experience of patients and families. As a
first step, my Administration secured $2.5 billion in
funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for
Health (ARPA-H). The scientists, innovators, and public
health professionals funded by ARPA-H are driving
breakthroughs in preventing, detecting, and treating
cancer and other deadly diseases. Throughout our
history, the United States has led the world in
scientific innovation and discovery. We will continue
to do so on our way to ending cancer as we know it.
My Administration is also investing in screening and
early detection--services that are critical to
diagnosing lung cancer in its beginning stages and
saving lives. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention--along with other agencies, community health
centers, and partners in the private sector--is
providing early detection knowledge and support
services to underserved communities. We remain
committed to increasing lung cancer screening rates for
those most at risk and encourage everyone to talk to
their doctor about symptoms.
There are additional steps each of us can take to
reduce the impact of lung cancer in our own lives. For
many, that starts with quitting smoking, the number one
cause of lung cancer and the single-largest driver of
cancer deaths in America. This year, our White House
Smoking Cessation Forum brought together public health
workers, health care providers, people living with
cancer and their caregivers, and others to expand
access to programs that help people who want to quit
and ensure that these programs are accessible to
everyone. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration
proposed rules to prohibit menthol cigarettes and
flavored cigars to help adults who are trying to quit
smoking and to prevent children from becoming the
[[Page 75466]]
next generation of smokers. Help is available to those
who want to quit smoking at <a href="http://www.BeTobaccoFree.gov">www.BeTobaccoFree.gov</a> or
<a href="http://www.smokefree.gov">www.smokefree.gov</a> or by calling 877-44U-QUIT.
Additionally, my Administration has taken significant
steps to make cancer treatments affordable for
everyone. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, out-of-
pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare will soon be
capped at $2,000 per year--including expensive cancer
drugs that sometimes cost several times that. We
strengthened Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), expanding health care coverage for millions of
Americans and helping nearly 15 million people save an
average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums.
I remain committed to maintaining the accessibility of
cancer care secured in the ACA, including requiring
insurers to pay for cancer screenings and primary care
visits and covering cancer survivors and others who
have preexisting conditions. I signed the PACT Act into
law--one of the most significant laws ever to help
veterans exposed to toxic materials, some of whom
develop lung cancer and other diseases. This law
expands access to benefits and services to veterans,
ensuring they have access to health care, free
screenings, and benefits through the Department of
Veterans Affairs. The law also provides access to
survivor benefits for families of veterans who died due
to a toxic-related illness. I was also proud to sign
the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, giving more than
10,000 firefighters and their families critical
workers' compensation and other benefits by making sure
certain kinds of heart problems, lung disease, and
cancers are presumed to be caused by the job.
Cancer has touched nearly every family in America--
including mine. During National Lung Cancer Awareness
Month, the First Lady and I have one message to the
Nation: There is hope. We see it in the extraordinary
courage and strength of all who are facing this deadly
disease and in the families and loved ones who support
them. We see it in the researchers who are chasing new
breakthroughs and the health care workers who care for
their patients with compassion and skill. This month
and every month, we must seize the urgency of this
moment to find better solutions, treatments, and cures
and to unite as one Nation to end cancer as we know it.
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 November 2023
as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. I call upon
the people of the United States to speak with their
doctors and health care providers to learn more about
lung cancer. I encourage citizens, government agencies,
private businesses, nonprofit organizations, the media,
and other interested groups to increase awareness about
what Americans can do to prevent, detect, and treat
lung cancer.
[[Page 75467]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of October, 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.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-24501
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 3, 2023.
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