Political Quotes

“I wish to speak about a devastating illness, pancreatic cancer, and what we in the Senate can do to address this serious problem. Winston Churchill once said, ``Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.'' I could not agree more. Pancreatic cancer is a serious disease that affects over 42,000 Americans each year. We have made great strides to expand cancer research and improve treatments, but unfortunately pancreatic cancer research is where breast cancer research was in the 1930s. The survival rate for pancreatic cancer today is the same as it was 30 years ago. We have little understanding of the causes, no methods of early detection, few effective treatments, and single-digit survival rates. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and 75 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis; the 5-year survival rate is barely 5 percent. According to a recent report on cancer trends, death rates for pancreatic cancer are increasing while death rates for all cancers combined, including the four most common cancers, prostate, breast, lung and colorectal, continue to decline. It is time to do something about this tragedy, this death sentence for tens of thousands of Americans. It is time to make a serious commitment to ensure that advances in pancreatic cancer research keep up with the progress we have seen in fighting other types of cancers.…”