Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 26

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilk

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonta, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Williams, and Yamada)

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February 26, 2013

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 26—Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 26, as amended, Wilk. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

This measure would designate the month of March 2013 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of
cancer deaths in both men and women in California, with 14,115
new cases and 5,135 deaths expected in 2013; and

WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many
cases, completely preventable; and

WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early
stage, survival is 94 percent; and

WHEREAS, There were approximately one million colorectal
cancer survivors in the United States in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is known as a silent killer because
symptoms only show up in the later stages of the disease; and

WHEREAS, With proper screening, colorectal cancer can be
prevented or, if found early, treated and cured; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, only 56 percent of the population in
California had received colorectal cancer screening according to
the guidelines; and

WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventative
Services Task Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer
screening tests, such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and fecal
occult blood test (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical test (FIT), could
reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and

WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in
2010, only about 43 percent of colorectal cancers were diagnosed
at an early, more treatable and curable stage; and

WHEREAS, The uninsured, underinsured, and underserved are
least likely to get screening for colorectal cancer, which means
they are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage when chances
of survival drop to 13 percent; and

WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most
cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more
cost-effective than breast or prostate cancer screening; and

WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal
cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this
country; and

WHEREAS, In California, colorectal cancer is the most common
cancer among Korean men, the second most common cancer among
Hispanic and Japanese men, and the second most common cancer
among Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Laotian,
South Asian, and Kampuchean women; and

WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer
screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with
the disease, and implement strategies to reduce disparities in
colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among
underserved populations in California; and

WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening
test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the
best test is the one you have done; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the months of
March 2013 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.