BILL NUMBER: ACR 26	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  16
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  APRIL 16, 2013
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  APRIL 4, 2013
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 21, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 21, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wilk
   (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)

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2013

   Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 26, Wilk. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
   This measure would designate the month of March 2013 as Colorectal
Cancer Awareness Month.



   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.