BILL NUMBER: SCR 134	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 4, 2014
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 19, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Beall

                        JULY 2, 2014

   Relative to Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 134, Beall. Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
   This measure would proclaim November 2014 as Pancreatic Cancer
Awareness Month and urge all Californians to know, fight, and end
pancreatic cancer.



   WHEREAS, In 2014, an estimated 46,420 people will be diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer and 39,590 people will die from the disease in
the United States, and the incidence and death rates for pancreatic
cancer are increasing; and
   WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, as it
is anticipated to move from the fourth to the second leading cause of
cancer death in the United States by 2020; and
   WHEREAS, Symptoms of pancreatic cancer usually first present
themselves in its late stage; and
   WHEREAS, Seventy-three percent of pancreatic cancer patients die
within the first year of their diagnosis, while 94 percent of
pancreatic cancer patients die within the first five years, rendering
the disease the only major cancer with a five-year relative survival
rate in the single digits at just 6 percent; and
   WHEREAS, Approximately 3,960 deaths from pancreatic cancer will
occur in California in 2014; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government invests significantly less money
in pancreatic cancer research than it does in research of any other
deadly cancer, constituting only approximately 2 percent of the
National Cancer Institute's budget, a figure far too low given the
severity of the disease, its mortality rate, and how little is known
about how to arrest it; and
   WHEREAS, The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012, formerly
the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act, requires that the
National Cancer Institute develop a scientific framework for
combating pancreatic cancer and other recalcitrant cancers; and
   WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a national
organization serving the pancreatic cancer community in California,
where it is headquartered, and nationwide through a comprehensive
approach, which includes public policy, research funding, patient
services, and public awareness and education related to developing
effective treatments and a cure for pancreatic cancer; and
   WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and its affiliates
in California support those patients and families currently battling
pancreatic cancer, as well as the friends and families of those who
have lost their lives to the disease, and are committed to nothing
less than a cure; and
   WHEREAS, The good health and well-being of the residents of
California are enhanced as a direct result of increased awareness
about pancreatic cancer and research into early detection, causes,
and effective treatments; and
   WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer statistics call for aggressive measures
now to develop early detection and treatment tools before the
incidence dramatically increases, in light of the fact that National
Cancer Institute funding is falling dangerously behind; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims November
2014 as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and urges all Californians
to know, fight, and end pancreatic cancer; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.