Bill Clinton: “I rise today on behalf of legislation I am introducing along with Senator Feinstein and others to help patients and…”

“I rise today on behalf of legislation I am introducing along with Senator Feinstein and others to help patients and their families around the country who are struggling against cancer. It has been three decades since we declared war on cancer, and passed the National Cancer Act of 1971. And while we have many new weapons in our arsenal, new surgical techniques, new drugs like Gleevec, and new diagnostic tests to catch cancer in its early stages, the burden of this disease on our Nation is still devastating. One out of every two Americans will hear these devastating words sometime in their lives: 'you have cancer.' It is the second leading cause of death in our country--surpassed only by heart disease, and it not only devastates the patient; it brings immeasurable pain into the lives of that person's family and friends. Consider the statistic that 1,500 Americans die of cancer each day--that's 1 out of every 4 deaths attributable to cancer. And the new cases continue to mount. Last year in New York alone there were an estimated 83,200 new cases of cancer--including 14,200 cases of breast cancer and nearly 4,000 cases of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Sadly, cancer has become a part of life for all American families. Thanks to research, early detection and treatment, cancer is not automatically a death sentence. It can be beaten. And it is even better to keep it from occurring in the first place.”