Bill Text: MS SC541 | 2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognize January 2022 as "Cervical Health Awareness Month in Mississippi."
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2022-02-21 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC541 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2022-SC541-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Blackwell, Boyd, Barnett, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Simmons (13th), Thomas
Senate Concurrent Resolution 541
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING JANUARY 2022 AS "CERVICAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH IN MISSISSIPPI," ACKNOWLEDGING THAT CERVICAL CANCER IS DETECTABLE AND PREVENTABLE THROUGH REGULAR SCREENING, AND ENCOURAGING ALL WOMEN TO SCHEDULE WELL-WOMAN EXAMS AND PAP+HPV (CO-TESTING) CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING.
WHEREAS, since the introduction of the life-saving Pap test in the 1940s, cervical cancer rates have steadily declined in the United States; and
WHEREAS, however, cervical cancer continues to affect women at an alarming rate. Every hour in the United States, a woman is diagnosed with cervical cancer, and every two hours a woman will die of this disease; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, the American Cancer Society estimated 14,480 new cases in the United States and 4,280 deaths from cervical cancer; and
WHEREAS, cervical cancer is not only treatable but can be preventable through regular screening; and
WHEREAS, Pap+HPV (co-testing) is the most widely adopted and preferred method for cervical cancer screening in the United States, and recent publications representative of clinical practice in the United States have shown that co-testing misses the fewest cancer/precursors and also indicate that 95 percent of cervical cancer has been detected by co-testing; and
WHEREAS, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic differences are factors that impact the screening, detection and treatment of cervical cancer in black and Hispanic women. Black women in the United States are twice as likely to die of cervical cancer than are white women and are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer than any other racial group, and Hispanic women are 30 percent more likely to die of cervical cancer than are white women; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19 has widened health disparities. In a recent report, 46 percent of women indicated they put off preventative care and 32 percent skipped recommended medical tests and screenings:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize January 2022 as "Cervical Health Awareness Month in Mississippi," acknowledge that cervical cancer is detectable and preventable through regular screening, and encourage all women to schedule well-woman exams and Pap+HPV (co-testing) cervical cancer screenings.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the State Board of Health for appropriate distribution and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
