Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 3.djvu/1066

 103 STAT. 3134 PROCLAMATION 6050—OCT. 18, 1989 uals and families it affects. We do so in order that all Americans might be worthy of the praise found in the "JBeatitudes for Friends of Excep- tional Children": Blessed are you, when, by all these things you assure us that the thing that makes us indi- viduals is not in our peculiar muscles, nor in our wounded nervous systems, nor in our diffi- culties in learning, but in the God-given self which no infirmity can confine. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 122, has designated the month of October 1989 and 1990 as "National Down Syndrome Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1989 and 1990 as National Down Syndrome Month. I urge all Americans to unite during October with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities directed toward helping affected individuals and their families enjoy to the full- est the blessing of life. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty- nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth. ^ A o. -, GEORGE BUSH Proclamation 6050 of October 18, 1989 National Awareness Week for Children With Cancer, 1989 By the President of the United States of America - f / A Proclamation Cancer causes more than 10 percent of all deaths among children in the United States between the ages of 1 and 14. It is second only to acci- dents as the leading cause of death in this age group. Families confronted by the specter of childhood cancer face one of the most difficult experiences they will ever know. These families both need and deserve the best medical and emotional support we can pro- vide; some may need considerable financial help as well. Every family touched by childhood cancer needs the patience and understanding of its friends, neighbors, teachers, and clergy. Parents need the support and compassion of their employers, and brothers and sisters of young cancer victims need special attention—not only at home, but also at school. Fortunately, dramatic progress has been made in the early diagnosis and treatment of childbood cancers. The number of children who die from cancer has declined by approximately one-third since 1973—a sig- nificant change over a relatively short span of time. The number of children who survive even such serious forms of cancer as Hodgkin's disease, acute lymphocytic lexikemia, Wilms' timior, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has increased markedly since 1960. Many private sector organizations and government agencies have been responsible for our Nation's progress in the fight against childhood

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