Bill Text: HI HR180 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designating February Of Each Year As Liver And Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month In The State Of Hawaii.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-27 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Creagan, DeCoite, Holt, McKelvey excused (4). [HR180 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR180-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	180
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

designating february of each year as liver and bile duct cancer awareness month in the state of hawaii.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that according to the National Cancer Institute of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER), Hawaii has the highest death rate of liver and bile duct cancer in the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that according to SEER, Asian and Pacific Islanders have the highest risk of being diagnosed with liver and bile duct cancer compared with other ethnicities; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the University of Hawaii Cancer Center Hawaii Tumor Registry, there are 184 new cases of liver cancer and bile duct cancer in Hawaii every year; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Hawaii Tumor Registry, liver and bile duct cancer are among the top ten newly diagnosed cases and cause of cancer deaths each year; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to SEER, Hawaii has a 33 percent higher incidence of liver and bile duct cancer than the national statistical norm; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that according to the Hawaii Tumor Registry, from 2004 to 2013, for which data is available, data on liver cancer and bile duct cancer indicates an annual increase in Hawaii of 2.1 percent in males and 1.3 percent in females, while the incidence of many other cancers such as colon, lung, prostate, and stomach cancer declined; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently over one thousand people in Hawaii are fighting liver cancer and bile duct cancer, both of which are almost always fatal; and

     WHEREAS, research indicates that liver flukes and aflatoxins may also cause liver and bile duct cancer in addition to the hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus and liver diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, liver flukes, a type of parasitic flatworm found in freshwater fish, shellfish, cattle, and vegetables grown in fresh water, have been previously found in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, aflatoxins, a toxin produced by a fungus abundant in warm and humid climates that can grow on foods such as rice, grains, and nuts that are stored improperly or for long periods of time may also be present in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, research shows that the most common way to get a liver fluke infection is by eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish and freshwater vegetables, such as watercress, that are contaminated with the parasites which, after having been ingested, travels from the intestines to the bile ducts in the liver where they then live and grow; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is little public awareness and education around liver and bile duct cancer and the relationship and risks that Hawaii's local diet and environment present to increasing the risk of contracting these diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is critical to reinforce the need for people to discuss their individual risk factors for liver and bile duct cancer with their healthcare providers and understand the recommendations and benefits of reducing risks and increasing prevention efforts; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that beginning in 2020, and every year thereafter, the month of February shall be designated as Liver and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness Month in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Hawaii Department of Health, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc., the City and County of Honolulu, and the Counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui are urged to continue to work towards promoting awareness and educating the public about liver and bile duct cancer and the relationship and risks the local diet and environment may have on contracting the disease; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; the Mayor of the County of Kauai; the Mayor of the County of Maui; the Mayor of the County of Hawaii; the Director of Health; the Director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center; and the President of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Resolution; Liver and Bile Duct Cancer Awareness; Designated Month