John Kerry: “Today, I am reintroducing a Senate resolution to raise awareness of the prostate cancer crisis that exists among…”

“Today, I am reintroducing a Senate resolution to raise awareness of the prostate cancer crisis that exists among African-American men. This resolution challenges Congress to provide the funds necessary to increase research funding, prevent and fight the disease, and to encourage African-American men to get screened. For me, this is personal. I am a prostate cancer survivor, and my experience opened my eyes to the horrific disparities in prevention, treatment, and long-term prognosis for prostate cancer in the African-American community. I learned a lot from my friend Tom Farrington. Tom and I are both lucky. We were diagnosed with prostate cancer--and we got cured. Our fathers weren't so lucky. Prostate cancer took them away from us. But once I got well, and once Tom got well, we started learning more and more, and a statistic that stays with me and with Tom, who is African American, speaks volumes. African-American men are 80 percent more likely to die of prostate cancer than White men. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death for African-American men, who have the highest incidence and mortality rate due to prostate cancer of any ethnic or racial group. African-American men are dying at a rate of 140 percent--almost 2 1/2 times--higher than other groups. That is the largest disparity for any major cancer.”