Donald M. Payne: “Yesterday, I introduced a resolution to designate March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I want to thank…”

“Yesterday, I introduced a resolution to designate March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I want to thank Senators Lautenberg, Menendez, and Enzi for introducing a similar resolution in the Senate. I also want to thank the entire New Jersey delegation and all those who signed on to this bipartisan resolution. This issue is very personal to me, as I lost my father, the late Congressman Donald Payne, Sr., to colon cancer just last March. It became my mission to raise awareness of the importance of cancer screening. While colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer, it remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In New Jersey alone, 1,600 people will die of this disease this year. African Americans and Hispanics are at increased risk. Too many people forego screenings because of the perceptions around testing. But I am here to tell you: be a man; get tested. You just might save your own life. ____________________”