ACR 111, as amended, Levine. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
This measure would designate the month of March 2014 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
2cancer deaths in California, with 14,255 new cases andbegin delete 5,2655end delete
3begin insert 5,265end insertbegin insert end insert deaths expected in 2014; and
4WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many
5cases, completely preventable; and
6WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early
7stage, survival is 95 percent; and
8WHEREAS, There were approximately one 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
P2 1WHEREAS, Inbegin delete 2012,end deletebegin insert 2010,end insert only 51 percent of California adults
250 years and older had received colorectal cancer screening
3according to the guidelines; and
4WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventative
5Services Task Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer
6screening tests, such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and fecal
7occult blood test (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical test (FIT), could
8reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and
9WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in
102011, only aboutbegin delete 43end deletebegin insert 45end insert percent of colorectal cancers were
11diagnosed at an early, more treatable and curable stage; and
12WHEREAS, The uninsured, underinsured, and underserved are
13least likely to get screening for colorectal cancer, which means
14they are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage when chances
15of survival drop to 13 percent; and
16WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most
17cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more
18cost-effective than breast or prostate cancer screening; and
19WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal
20cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this
21country; and
22WHEREAS, In California, colorectal cancer is the second most
23common cancer among Korean, Hispanic, Japanese, South Asian,
24Kampuchean, and Hmong men, and the second most common
25cancer among Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean,
26Laotian, Vietnamese, and Kampuchean women; and
27WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
28is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer
29screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with
30the disease, and implement strategies to reduce disparities in
31colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among
32underserved populations in California; and
33WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
34encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening
35test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the
36best test is the one you have done; now, therefore, be it
37Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
38thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
39March 2014 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it
40further
P3 1Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
2of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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