Bill Text: PA SR201 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designating the month of November 2009 as "Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2009-10-08 - Introduced and adopted [SR201 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SR201-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1479
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 201 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY MELLOW, McILHINNEY, PILEGGI, STACK, HUGHES, FERLO, ORIE, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, BOSCOLA, KITCHEN, KASUNIC, TARTAGLIONE, DINNIMAN, WAUGH, ROBBINS, FONTANA, LOGAN, D. WHITE, TOMLINSON, PIPPY, FARNESE, STOUT, BRUBAKER, O'PAKE, BAKER, VOGEL, MUSTO, EARLL, GREENLEAF, ALLOWAY AND COSTA, OCTOBER 8, 2009
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, OCTOBER 8, 2009
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of November 2009 as "Pancreatic Cancer
Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, More than 37,000 people will be diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer this year in the United States and 34,000 will
die from the disease; and
WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest cancer and the
fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer will cause approximately 1,920
deaths in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of pancreatic cancer patients
die within the first year of their diagnosis and 95% of
pancreatic cancer patients die within the first five years; and
WHEREAS, There is no cure for pancreatic cancer and there
have been no significant improvements in early detection,
treatment methods or survival rates in the last 25 years; and
WHEREAS, When symptoms of pancreatic cancer present
themselves it is usually too late for an optimistic prognosis,
and the average life expectancy of those diagnosed with
metastasis disease is only three to six months; and
WHEREAS, Incidence of pancreatic cancer is 20% to 30% higher
in men than in women and 40% to 50% higher in African Americans
than in other ethnic groups; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Government invests less money in
pancreatic cancer research than it does in any of the other
leading cancers; and
WHEREAS, The good health and well-being of the residents of
this Commonwealth are enhanced as a direct result of increased
awareness about pancreatic cancer and research into early
detection, causes and effective treatment; and
WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the first
and only national patient advocacy organization that serves the
pancreatic cancer community in Pennsylvania and nationwide by
focusing its efforts on public policy, research funding, patient
services and public awareness and education related to
developing effective treatments and a cure for pancreatic
cancer; and
WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and its
affiliates support those patients currently battling pancreatic
cancer, as well as those who have lost their lives to the
disease, and are committed to nothing less than a cure; and
WHEREAS, Fund a Cure for Pancreatic Cancer, a Pennsylvania-
based nonprofit advocacy group, is dedicated to increasing
funding for pancreatic cancer research and to advocating for the
allocation of appropriate research funding from the Federal
Government to the National Cancer Institute to discover and
develop enhanced detection techniques and improved treatment
20090SR0201PN1479 - 2 -
methods for pancreatic cancer; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of November
2009 as "Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania in
support of the goals of educating the citizens of this
Commonwealth about the lethality of pancreatic cancer, how
quickly it claims the lives of those afflicted and the lack of
adequate funding towards lifesaving research and detection
methods.
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