Proclamation 6202—National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 1990

During 1990 alone, an estimated 150,000 American women will get breast cancer; some 44,000 of them are expected to die from it. Such dire projections, however, need not become a reality in the future. Today we know that deaths from breast cancer can be significantly reduced if the cancer is found in its early, more treatable stages of development. The United States Department of Health and Human Services reports that as much as a 30 percent drop in the breast cancer death rate is possible if women follow early detection guidelines.

Thirteen major public and private health organizations, including the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, have agreed upon the following screening guidelines for breast cancer: A woman between the ages of 40 and 49 should have a mammogram every 1 to 2 years, as well as an annual breast examination by her physician; after age 50, both the mammogram and the breast exam should be done annually. The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society also recommend monthly breast self-exams.

Research has led to important advances in treatment for victims of breast cancer. Women whose breast cancer is detected in its early stages can be treated with much less extensive surgery than in the past. At early stages, lumpectomy plus radiation, rather than mastectomy or full removal of the breast, is an option, but lumpectomy is viable only for those women whose cancer has been detected early.

Health care professionals throughout the United States are working hard to encourage women to follow the breast cancer screening guidelines developed by the National Cancer Institute and other organizations. Many private voluntary associations and concerned individuals are also spreading the word about the importance of early detection and urging women who are age 40 and older to obtain regular screenings. Some businesses are offering screening to their employees. This month we reaffirm our determination to carry on such efforts and encourage other health care providers, employers, charitable organizations, and community groups to follow suit.

Today we have the knowledge and technology necessary to find and to treat breast cancer in its earliest stages. Let us put these resources to work to save the lives of American women.

To enhance public awareness of the importance of regular screenings for breast cancer, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 301, has designated the month of October 1990 as "National Breast Cancer Awareness Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1990 as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I invite the Governors of the 50 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as the appropriate officials of all other areas under the flag of the United States, to issue similar proclamations. I also ask all Americans -- in particular, health care providers, insurance companies, employers, and members of charitable associations and community groups -- to join in this special effort to promote awareness of breast cancer.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth.

GEORGE BUSH