ACR 26, as introduced, Wilk. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
This measure would designate the month of March 2013 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of
2cancer deaths in both men and women in California, with 14,115
3new cases and 5,135 deaths expected in 2013; and
4WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many
5cases, completely preventable; and
6WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early
7stage, survival is 94 percent; and
8WHEREAS, There were approximately one million colorectal
9cancer survivors in the United States in 2002; and
10WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is known as a silent killer because
11symptoms only show up in the later stages of the disease; and
12WHEREAS, With proper screening, colorectal cancer can be
13prevented or, if found early, treated and cured; and
14WHEREAS, In 2005, only 56 percent of the population in
15California had received colorectal cancer screening according to
16the guidelines; and
P2 1WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventative
2Services Task Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer
3screening tests, such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and fecal
4occult blood test (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical test (FIT), could
5reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and
6WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in
72010, only about 43 percent of colorectal cancers were diagnosed
8at an early, more treatable and curable stage; and
9WHEREAS, The uninsured, underinsured, and underserved are
10least likely to get screening for colorectal cancer, which means
11they are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage when chances
12of survival drop to 13 percent; and
13WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most
14cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more
15cost-effective than breast or prostate cancer screening; and
16WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal
17cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this
18country; and
19WHEREAS, In California, colorectal cancer is the most common
20cancer among Korean men, the second most common cancer among
21Hispanic and Japanese men, and the second most common cancer
22among Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Laotian,
23South Asian, and Kampuchean women; and
24WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
25is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer
26screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with
27the disease, and implement strategies to reduce disparities in
28colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among
29underserved populations in California; and
30WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
31encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening
32test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the
33best test is the one you have done; now, therefore, be it
34Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
35thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the months of
36March 2013 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it
37further
P3 1Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
2of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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