President Biden declares March 2022 National CRC Awareness Month
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In a press room briefing, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. proclaimed March 2022 to be National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and announced the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
“I have called on the Congress to create the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which will invest billions of dollars to advance breakthroughs in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer and other deadly diseases,” President Biden wrote in the press briefing. “As we continue to pursue game-changing scientific breakthroughs, my Administration also remains steadfast in our commitment to increasing colorectal cancer screenings, follow-ups and referrals, with a particular focus on underserved populations.”
According to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, in 2022 an estimated 151,030 people will be diagnosed and 52,580 people will die from CRC, the third most diagnosed cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. To help mitigate this enormous burden, Biden “re-ignited” the Cancer Moonshot with a new goal of reducing the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years.
Additional CRC statistics from the American Cancer Society and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance include:
- Young-onset CRC is on the rise; from 2007 through 2016, diagnosis rates for those aged 65 years and older dropped each year by 3.3% while rates for those younger than 50 years increased each year by 2.2%.
- The median age of diagnosis is 66 years in men and 69 years in women.
- From 2009 to 2013, CRC incidence and death rates were 20% and 40% higher for African American patients.
“During National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, I urge every American to exercise vigilance around their own health and the health of their loved ones,” President Biden concluded. “Early diagnosis and treatment save lives — and getting screened for colorectal cancer is vitally important as we continue our shared mission to end cancer as we know it.”
References:
- American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Facts and Figures 2020-2022. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/colorectal-cancer-facts-and-figures/colorectal-cancer-facts-and-figures-2020-2022.pdf. Accessed: March 01, 2022.
- American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Facts and Figures 2017-2019. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/colorectal-cancer-facts-and-figures/colorectal-cancer-facts-and-figures-2017-2019.pdf. Accessed: March 01, 2022.
- Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Know the Facts. Available at: https://www.ccalliance.org/colorectal-cancer-information/facts-and-statistics. Accessed: March 1, 2022.
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