October 23, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 182 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S6417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 757--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF THE 
    MONTH OF NOVEMBER, 2020 AS ``PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Brown) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                               S.Res. 757

       Whereas pancreatic cancer will kill an estimated 47,050 
     people in the United States in 2020;
       Whereas pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of 
     cancer-related death in the United States;
       Whereas, in 2020, pancreatic cancer has killed two United 
     States icons--Representative John Lewis and Associate Justice 
     of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg;
       Whereas an additional 57,600 individuals in the United 
     States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020;
       Whereas, of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, 66 
     percent will die within the first year of their diagnosis;
       Whereas persistent healthcare inequities and disparities 
     for communities of color compound the devastation of 
     pancreatic cancer;
       Whereas the incidence rate for pancreatic cancer among 
     Black Americans is 20 percent higher than that of any other 
     racial demographic;
       Whereas the pancreatic cancer death rate is 17 percent 
     higher for Black men than for White men;
       Whereas the lack of pancreatic cancer early detection 
     research accelerates the racial unfairness in the United 
     States healthcare system, with devastating consequences for 
     minorities;
       Whereas pancreatic cancer has no early detection test to 
     diagnose this cancer quickly and accurately determine the 
     presence of this cancer;
       Whereas, if diagnosed early, the 5-year survival rate for 
     pancreatic cancer patients is above 80 percent;
       Whereas, if pancreatic cancer is detected late, the 5-year 
     survival rate drops to less than 10 percent;
       Whereas without adequate funding and early detection 
     research, pancreatic cancer is not discovered until the late 
     stages of this horrific cancer when treatment options are 
     limited;
       Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, pancreatic cancer received 
     its own dedicated research program at the Department of 
     Defense under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research 
     Programs;
       Whereas, in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 
     2020 (division A of Public Law 116-93), Congress appropriated 
     funds to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research 
     Programs, with $6,000,000 going to the Pancreatic Cancer 
     Research Program; and
       Whereas the 116th Congress has a unique opportunity to make 
     a historic investment in pancreatic cancer research at the 
     Department of Defense: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the designation of ``Pancreatic Cancer 
     Awareness Month'' for the month of November, 2020;
       (2) recognizes the critical importance of increasing 
     funding for pancreatic cancer research at the Department of 
     Defense and the National Institutes of Health to find 
     effective treatments for this cancer and reduce the 
     disproportionate impact on communities of color; and
       (3) supports the efforts of the many advocacy organizations 
     to educate communities in the United States about pancreatic 
     cancer and the need for more research funding, early-
     detection initiatives, diagnostic tests, and effective 
     treatments.

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