Political Quotes

“To my distinguished colleagues from New Jersey and from New York, I thank both of you all for addressing this issue, which is of national importance. What both of my colleagues have said, Mr. Speaker, is correct. Cancer is a hideous disease, and we need a national commitment to beat this horrific disease. I want to talk tonight to the American people about a personal experience that I had with cancer. At the same time, I want to also, as my distinguished colleagues did, honor the American Society of Clinical Oncology for their efforts to fight cancer. When I was 9 years old, my mother developed breast cancer. I was more worried about playing baseball, being a kid; and I can remember vividly the doctor saying: your mother has cancer. My parents were from the World War II generation. My mother was born in 1922, my dad in 1925, and they did not have a formal education; but I knew something was very wrong that night, and I knew my mother was going to have breast cancer surgery, but I didn't know what cancer was. We had hoped and prayed that she would get better. Well, about 2 years later, unfortunately, that cancer did metastasize. At the time, my father was working away several hundred miles to keep a job, and I was an only child, and I can remember my mother waking up screaming in pain.…”