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.
P2 1WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
2cancer deaths in California, with 14,255 new cases and 5,265
3deaths 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
14WHEREAS, In 2010, only 51 percent of California adults 50
15years and older had received colorectal cancer screening according
16to the guidelines; and
17WHEREAS, According to the United States Preventative
18Services Task Force, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer
19screening tests, such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and fecal
20occult blood test (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical test (FIT), could
21reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 66 percent; and
22WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in
232011, only about 45 percent of colorectal cancers were diagnosed
24at an early, more treatable and curable stage; and
25WHEREAS, The uninsured, underinsured, and underserved are
26least likely to get screening for colorectal cancer, which means
27they are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage when chances
28of survival drop to 13 percent; and
29WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most
30cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more
31cost-effective than breast or prostate cancer screening; and
32WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal
33cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this
34country; and
35WHEREAS, In California, colorectal cancer is the second most
36common cancer among Korean, Hispanic, Japanese, South Asian,
37Kampuchean, and Hmong men, and the second most common
38cancer among Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean,
39Laotian, Vietnamese, and Kampuchean women; and
P3 1WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
2is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer
3screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with
4the disease, and implement strategies to reduce disparities in
5colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among
6underserved populations in California; and
7WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4)
8encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening
9test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the
10best test is the one you have done; now, therefore, be it
11Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
12thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
13March 2014 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it
14further
15Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
16of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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