Bill Text: MI HR0306 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: A resolution to declare September 16-22, 2012, as Teen Cancer Awareness Week in the state of Michigan.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2012-08-15 - Adopted [HR0306 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2011-HR0306-Enrolled.html
Reps. Jenkins, Barnett, Brown, Crawford, Darany, Geiss, Haines, Heise, Hooker, Horn, Knollenberg, LeBlanc, Liss, Nathan, Poleski, Price, Talabi and Tyler offered the following resolution:
House Resolution No. 306.
A resolution to declare September 16-22, 2012, as Teen Cancer Awareness Week in the state of Michigan.
Whereas, Cancer among adolescents is rare, but is still the leading cause of death from disease in teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age; and
Whereas, While teens should receive treatment at pediatric hospitals, only one-third of adolescent cancer patients are treated at pediatric oncology centers, and when they are, they often feel out of place because they are too old to be mixed in with younger children and most pediatric oncology programs focus on the clinical and psychosocial needs of younger patients; and
Whereas, Alternatively, when teen cancer patients receive treatment in adult cancer facilities, they feel out of place because they are too young to be treated as adults and account for only one percent of the population treated by medical oncologists; and
Whereas, Teens with cancer are thus stranded between two medical systems, neither of which adequately addresses their clinical and psychosocial needs; and
Whereas, While the five-year survival rates of children with cancer have increased in the last 20 years, survival rates for teenagers and young adults with cancer are dismally low in comparison. The disparity is partly due to the fact that 40 percent of cancer patients 14 and younger are enrolled in clinical trials compared with an average of only nine percent of cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 24; and
Whereas, Teens with cancer have unique concerns about their education, social lives, body image, and infertility, among other things, and their needs too often are not understood or acknowledged; and
Whereas, Many adolescent cancer survivors have difficulty re-adjusting to school and social settings, and experience anxiety and increased learning difficulties; and
Whereas, There exists an undeniable need to not only understand the biology and clinical needs of teens with cancer, but also to increase awareness in the larger community about the unique challenges facing teens with cancer; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare September 16-22, 2012, as Teen Cancer Awareness Week in the state of Michigan.
