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First Ladies > Patricia Ryan Nixon
Thelma Catherine (Patricia) Ryan Nixon
(1912-1993)
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Background
Selected Achievements
Cancer and Leading Causes of Death
Tips to Reduce Your Risk for Lung Cancer
Related Links
Background
Born in Ely, Nevada on March 16, 1912 as Thelma Catherine Ryan, "Patricia"
grew to be one of America’s most admired women. She had many
responsibilities as a teenager. She cared for her father and brothers when
her mother died in 1925. Several years later, her father died, leaving her
in charge of the family at the age of 18. After graduating from high school,
she attended Fullerton Junior College until she moved to New York. Two years
later, she returned to California and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of
Science degree in merchandising from the University of Southern California.
After
college, Patricia taught at Whittier High School, where she met Richard
Nixon in 1937. They married on June 21, 1940 in a Quaker ceremony in
Riverside, California.
Patricia Ryan
Nixon served as First Lady from 1969 to 1974. She accompanied her husband to
over 50 countries, visited hospitals, and was a life-long humanitarian. Mrs.
Nixon died on June 22, 1993 from lung cancer.
Selected Achievements
- Organized
the "Right to Read" program to promote literacy
- Arranged
the first White House tours for the visually- and hearing-impaired
- Championed
volunteerism
- Received
the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (Peru’s highest honor) for flying
supplies gathered by volunteers to victims of an earthquake in Peru (She
was the first North American woman to obtain this award.)
Cancer and Leading Causes of Death
Three Leading Causes of Death |
1993 |
2001 |
Heart
disease |
Heart
disease |
Cancer |
Cancer |
Stroke |
Stroke |
Mrs. Nixon
died of lung cancer in 1993. At that time, cancer was, and still is, the
second leading cause of death in the United States. In 2001, 553,768 people
died of cancer in the United States. Among women, breast cancer is the
leading cancer, and lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.
Tips to Reduce Your Risk for Cancer
- Be
smoke-free.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/how2quit.htm*
To reduce your risk for lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and
reproductive health problems, don’t smoke or use other tobacco products.
Tobacco smoking is thought to be responsible for 8 out of 10 cases of lung
cancer.
- Reduce
your exposure to second-hand smoke.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/ETS_Toolkit/index.htm*
Nonsmokers suffer many of the diseases of active smoking when they breathe
second-hand smoke, which contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic
or cause cancer. Reducing second-hand smoke exposure will reduce
second-hand smoke-related illnesses and deaths among nonsmokers.
- See
your health care provider.
Talk with your health care provider if you have a family history of or
risk factors for cancer. If you smoke, discuss different options to help
you quit. Seek medical attention if you experience any of the following
symptoms: a cough that does not go away; shortness of breath; weight loss;
and/or loss of appetite.
Related Links
Can Lung Cancer Be Found Early?*
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_Can_lung_cancer_
be_found_early_26.asp?sitearea= (Non-CDC site)
Deaths:
Leading Causes for 2001*
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_03.pdf
Guide to Community Preventive Services: Tobacco*
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data/environmental/
MMWR_rr4912_factsheet.htm
New Report on
Declining Cancer Incidence and Death Rates: Report Shows Progress in
Controlling Cancer*
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/98news/cancer.htm
Patricia Nixon,
Wife of Former President, Dies at 81*
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V113/N29/nixon.29w.html (Non-CDC site)
Patricia
Ryan Nixon*
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/pn37.html (Non-CDC site)
U.S. Cancer Statistics- 2000 Incidence Report: Report Facts and Major
Findings*
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/uscs/2000/users_guide/facts.htm
Women
and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_forwomen/ataglance.htm
*Used as
a source for this Web page.
This site contains documents in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader
to access the file. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader, you may download a
free copy from the
Adobe Web site.
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This page
last reviewed March 18, 2005: Historical Document
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/women/owh/firstlady/nixon.htm
US
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office of Women's Health
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