BILL NUMBER: SCR 118	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  138
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  AUGUST 24, 2016
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  MARCH 31, 2016
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Glazer
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Gipson)

                        MARCH 15, 2016

   Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 118, Glazer. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
   This bill would designate March 2016 as Colorectal Cancer
Awareness Month.



   WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer
deaths in Californians, with 14,510 new cases and 5,180 deaths
expected in 2016; and
   WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many
cases, completely preventable; and
   WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early stage,
the survival rate is 95 percent; and
   WHEREAS, There were approximately 1 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 2013, only 49 percent of California adults 50 years of
age and older had received a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, and 34
percent had received a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) to screen for
colorectal cancer; and
   WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventive Services Task
Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer screening
tests, such as colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies, and fecal occult blood
tests (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical tests (FIT), could reduce death
rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and
   WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in 2012, only
about 42 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 and Hmong women, the second most common
cancer among Hispanic, Japanese, South Asian, Kampuchean, and
Hawaiian men, and the second most common cancer among Chinese,
Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese, and
Hawaiian 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 to 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; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
March 2016 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.