Senate Concurrent ResolutionNo. 118


Introduced by Senator Glazer

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gipson)

March 15, 2016


Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 118—Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 118, as introduced, Glazer. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

This bill would designate March 2016 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
2cancer deaths in Californians, with 14,510 new cases and 5,180
3deaths expected in 2016; and

4WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many
5cases, completely preventable; and

6WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early
7stage, the survival rate is 95 percent; and

8WHEREAS, There were approximately 1 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 2013, only 49 percent of California adults 50
15years of age and older had received a sigmoidoscopy or
16colonoscopy, and 34 percent had received a fecal occult blood test
17(FOBT) to screen for colorectal cancer; and

P2    1WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventive Services
2Task Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer screening
3tests, such as colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, and fecal occult
4blood tests (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical tests (FIT), could reduce
5death rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and

6WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in
72012, only about 42 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 and Hmong women, the second most
21common cancer among Hispanic, Japanese, South Asian,
22Kampuchean, and Hawaiian men, and the second most common
23cancer among Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean,
24Laotian, Vietnamese, and Hawaiian women; and

25WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
26is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer
27screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with
28the disease, and to implement strategies to reduce disparities in
29colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among
30underserved populations in California; and

31WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
32encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening
33test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the
34best test is the one you have done now; now, therefore, be it

35Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
36thereof concurring,
That the Legislature designates the month of
37March 2016 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it
38further

P3    1Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
2this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.



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