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 Proclamations Proc. 7284 More than a million citizens of Greek descent live in America today, and their devotion to family, faith, community, and country has enriched our society immeasurably. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM 1. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitu- tion and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2000, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independ- ence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7284 of March 31, 2000 Cancer Control Month, 2000 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in 1953, we have learned much about the relationship between genetics and cancer, and researchers have begun to isolate and study genes whose alteration and dysfunction may cause the disease. In the last decade, increased understanding of can- cer and growing public awareness of its symptoms and risks have helped us to reverse the upward trend in cancer rates in our Nation. Cancer cases and death rates have declined slightly but steadily in the United States; the 5-year survival rate has improved for all cancers; and 8.4 million Ameri- cans are now cancer survivors. Despite these encouraging trends, this is no time for complacency. Last year alone, more than i million people were diagnosed with cancer, and more than 560,000 died from it. And cancer rates are still disproportion- ately high among certain racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. That is why my Administration remains committed to fighting this deadly disease in every sector of our population. Since 1998, we have boosted investment in biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health by an unprece- dented $4.1 billion, including a dramatic increase in funding for the Na- tional Cancer Institute (NCI), the primary Federal cancer research agency. Early detection and preventative treatment remain the best weapons we have in the battle against this disease, and several promising initiatives at the NCI will improve our effectiveness in both areas. The NCI recently issued a "Director's Challenge" to spur research nationwide into defining key genetic changes that mark tumors as malignant or precancerous. This information will improve the way tumors are classified and lay the ground work for more precise molecular diagnosis. The NCI is also developing and testing molecular markers specific to certain cancers, as well as working on new technologies to improve detection. This research will help doctors to intervene early, with minimally invasive procedures, to prevent the disease from becoming full-blown. 47

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