Remarks as prepared; not a transcript.

Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H, FACS
United States Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Press conference to launch "U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative"

November 8, 2004
10 a.m.
National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you, Francis, for that kind introduction. (Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute)

It's great to be here with you to launch the Family History Initiative.

I also want to thank all our partners from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

My friend Dr. Betty Duke, Administrator of HHS' Healthcare Resources and Services Administration.

Dr. Khoury is here representing our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And I also want to thank Dr. Carolyn Clancy and her team at HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for all they've done to help develop this initiative for the American people.

As Francis mentioned, I'm a surgeon. But what many of you may not know is that I'm a "recovering" surgeon.

I say that because at times surgery can be a barbaric process, especially in light of new medical procedures.

If a patient has an injured or diseased organ, or a cancer growing in her body, what do we surgeons do? We cut her open, remove the organ or the cancerous area, and clamp off the bleeding. All throughout subjecting her body to trauma, shock, and the possibility of infection.

Or, the oncologist may give poisons that kill cancer cells but also destroy healthy tissue and cause other major complications.

But thanks to biomedical research and the great imaginations of scientists, we have preventive measures that are making some surgeries a thing of the past.

We have early diagnosis that leads to early treatment - also making surgery to a thing of the past.

The future of medicine is here, and it is now.

Health Literacy

That's why I've been working with colleagues throughout the nation for over a year to improve Americans' health literacy. By improving health literacy, we can save lives through prevention and early diagnosis.

Because the more people know about health, the better they take care of themselves and their families.

This morning we're taking an incredible step forward in improving Americans' health literacy. It's related to something that most people think of as future science - genetics.

We've heard of the success of the Human Genome Project, but most people don't know how it applies to them.

Family History Initiative

While the future of genetics and is exciting, and will revolutionize the practice of medicine in the next 10 to 20 years, we can take steps today to use the information we have.

For example, most Americans already know that their family health history can be useful, but relatively few people have tried to collect it in an organized way.

According to results from the Healthstyles 2004 Survey, conducted by the CDC, 96 percent of Americans believe that knowing family history is important to their health.

The survey also shows, however, that only one-third of Americans have ever tried to gather and organize their families' health histories.

That is why we are introducing the "U.S. Surgeon General's Family History Initiative."

This initiative focuses on a single, simple concept: knowing your family's medical history can save your life.

If you know that breast cancer runs in your family, mothers and daughters should get tested earlier than doctors usually recommend for the general population.

If the men in your family die from heart disease, then you should be monitored for cholesterol and high blood pressure earlier than usual.

Surveillance can lead to early detection. And early detection can lead to more effective treatments. It's a simple and well-proven strategy.

But many people often don't take preventive action because they don't think they are at risk.

"My Family Health Portrait"

To close that gap, today we are launching a new computer-based tool called "My Family Health Portrait."

This tool will help you collect and organize family health information in an easy-to-use format.

You can give this information to your health care professional, who can use it to help you make decisions about screenings and other prevention efforts for specific conditions that run in your family.

"My Family Health Portrait" is available at the HHS Web site starting today.

It's free, and any information entered is stored on the user's computer - no information will ever be available to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or anyone else.

Let's take a minute to see how it works:

SCREEN 1: This is the opening page of "My Family Health Portrait."
SCREEN 2: The user moves to the first screen and starts by putting in her own name and basic information. In this case, the user is a 30-year-old woman named Jill.
SCREEN 3: Jill continues by filling in any illnesses that she has had. In this case, she's a healthy young woman.
SCREEN 4: The tool then helps you gather information about your family. It starts with parents, then asks the user to fill in information about grandparents.
SCREEN 5: The tool then walks you through filling in information for each relative. Here we see that Jill's fraternal grandmother Vivian was diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age.
SCREEN 6: When all the information is filled in for all the relatives, the tool creates a portrait of the family. This screen shows what diseases were suffered by Jill's family members.
SCREEN 7: The tool also produces a printed report that Jill can take to a health care professional.

When Jill finishes, she has a neatly organized family medical history that can help a health care professional identify susceptibilities and determine how to best prevent diseases that run in her family.

This tool is available online and in print versions - in English and in Spanish.

National Family History Day

It's a great tool - but only if we use it.

Millions of dollars in medical research, equipment, and knowledge can't give us the information that this simple tool can.

The reality is that most people don't know very much about their family medical history. You might not know that Uncle Billy has high cholesterol, or that Aunt Susie has low bone density.

That's why I want everyone, all over America, to talk about their family's medical history when we sit down for Thanksgiving this year.

Thanksgiving 2004 is our country's first annual National Family History Day.

Thanksgiving is the perfect day for talking about family history because so many families gather together.

It's a chance to ask your family about what diseases you should be on the look-out for in your own life. You'll be amazed at what you learn - and not just about disease.

Knowing your family medical history is a peek into your own genome.

Health care professionals have known for a long time that diseases can run in families. If one generation of a family has high blood pressure, it is not unusual for the next generation to have high blood pressure.

Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and other blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which you may be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy.

When a health care professional is equipped with your family health history, he or she can assess the inherent risk factors and begin tests or treatment even before any disease is evident.

The bottom line is that knowing your family history can save your life.

Russell Balmer

I would now like to introduce a young man who is taking all this advice to heart - for himself and for his family. His name is Russell Balmer, and I'm so pleased that he has joined us today.

There is no question that sharing a very personal experience in front of a room full of people… and the media… is difficult. We appreciate Russell's willingness to be here and hope that his story will help encourage other Americans to take steps now to better understand their family health history.

Thank you, Russell.

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Last revised: January 9, 2007