Presidential Documents
Proclamation 10166 of March 31, 2021
National Cancer Control Month, 2021
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Despite the incredible advancements we have made in recent years, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. Behind this statistic are millions of Americans who know the distress of receiving a cancer diagnosis, and millions more who watch family members or friends courageously fight this disease and too often succumb to it. Cancer is brutal and cruel, and I intimately understand the incalculable human toll that this disease inflicts on patients and their loved ones—a toll that strikes communities of color at disproportionately high rates.
During National Cancer Control Month, we celebrate the progress made against this disease, and we reaffirm our national commitment to preventing cancer, improving treatments and the delivery of care, and finding a cure. This includes efforts to improve cancer prevention, promote early detection, enhance treatment, and support the needs of cancer survivors and caregivers. This issue is deeply personal for me—and as President, I am committed to ending cancer as we know it.
Progress begins with helping people take steps to lower their risk for many kinds of cancer. Tobacco use remains the top cause of cancer deaths in the United States. By helping people quit smoking and limiting exposure to secondhand smoke, we can reduce cancer risk and save lives. Resources to help quit smoking can be found at SmokeFree.gov or by calling 1–800–QUIT–NOW. Eating healthy, getting regular physical activity, limiting alcohol consumption, and reducing sun exposure when the sun is at its peak can also help reduce the risk of getting cancer.
My Administration is proud to support efforts like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control and the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs, which help Americans in communities throughout the country get recommended cancer screenings. You can read more about these programs at cdc.gov/cancer.
My Administration is also a proud supporter of ClinicalTrials.gov, the world’s largest public clinical research database that gives patients, families, health care providers, researchers, and others easy access to information on clinical studies relating to a wide range of diseases and conditions, including cancer.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971. This landmark legislation cemented our Nation’s commitment to cancer research, establishing networks of cancer centers, clinical trials, data collection systems, and advanced research, without which many breakthroughs against cancer in recent years would not have occurred.
In addition, the Cancer Moonshot, which former President Obama and I initiated in 2016, accelerated progress in cancer prevention, treatment, and cures, including by funding six Implementation Science Centers in cancer control. These centers were created to expand the use of proven cancer prevention and early detection strategies, especially among underserved, rural, and minority populations, which often have lower rates of cancer screening and thus find cancer at more advanced stages. You can read
