Crapo, Senate Raise Awareness Of Prostate Cancer

Washington, DC - The United States Senate continued its effort Thursday to fight prostate cancer by passing a resolution recognizing September as "National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month." Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a two-time survivor of prostate cancer, was an original co-sponsor of the resolution-which was passed by Unanimous Consent.

S. Res. 667 notes that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer behind skin cancer and is the second-leading cause of death in men having cancer. Statistics project that this year, 186,320 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 28,660 men are expected to die from it. The resolution also seeks to raise awareness about the importance of screening and treatment of prostate cancer and "to increase research funding that is commensurate with the burden of the disease so that the screening and treatment may be improved."

"As an advocate of cancer awareness, it is my hope that all men will educate themselves about prostate cancer," said Crapo, a member of the Senate Medical Technology Caucus and the Senate Rural Health Caucus. "Statistics show that one in six men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. I can personally attest to the importance of health screenings and how imperative it is to detect this disease early when treatment will be most effective."

Since 2001, Crapo has sponsored the Mike Crapo Health Awareness booths held in partnership with the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation at regional fairs in the state. The booths provide cancer screening tests as well as glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol checks.