Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires performance of myeloma screening under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning myeloma screenings and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 34,470 new cases of myeloma in 2022 in the United States.
The Legislature further finds and declares that it is estimated that there will be 12,640 deaths in 2022 due to myeloma according to the American Cancer Society.
The Legislature further finds and declares that, in New Jersey, it is estimated that there will be 1,060 myeloma cases and 330 deaths in 2022.
The Legislature further finds and declares that men have a higher myeloma incidence and death rate compared to women, and African American men have the highest myeloma incidence and death rate according to the American Society.
The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the public interest to enact legislation requiring licensed health care professionals who perform annual physical examinations on male patients to include as part of those examinations a screening for myeloma.
2. A licensed health care professional who performs an annual physical examination on a male patient shall include as part of that examination a screening for myeloma.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the performance of a myeloma screening under certain circumstances.
Under the bill, a licensed health care professional who performs an annual physical examination on a male patient is to include as part of that examination a screening for myeloma.
Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is a cancer of the plasma cells. Plasma cells are white blood cells that make antibodies which protect from infection. In a case of myeloma, cancerous plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow and overcome healthy blood cells. Rather than produce helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins that can cause complications.
There are legislative findings and declarations in the bill, which include that African-American men have the highest myeloma incidence and death rates according to the American Cancer Society.