BILL NUMBER: ACR 111	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  25
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  MAY 5, 2014
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  APRIL 24, 2014
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 20, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 20, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 12, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Levine
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano,
Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Linder,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, and Yamada)

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2014

   Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 111, Levine. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
   This measure would designate the month of March 2014 as Colorectal
Cancer Awareness Month.



   WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer
deaths in California, with 14,255 new cases and 5,265 deaths expected
in 2014; 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 95 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 2010, only 51 percent of California adults 50 years
and older 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 2011, only
about 45 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 second most
common cancer among Korean, Hispanic, Japanese, South Asian,
Kampuchean, and Hmong men, and the second most common cancer among
Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese,
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 month of
March 2014 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.