Bill Text: PA SR203 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designating the month of November 2011 as "Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 19-12)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-17 - Introduced and adopted [SR203 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SR203-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1671
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 203 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY VOGEL, FARNESE, D. WHITE, PIPPY, MENSCH, BROWNE, SCARNATI, BAKER, FONTANA, GREENLEAF, ERICKSON, ORIE, KASUNIC, BLAKE, TARTAGLIONE, TOMLINSON, RAFFERTY, PILEGGI, EARLL, FERLO, YAW, KITCHEN, COSTA, SCHWANK, SOLOBAY, BREWSTER, BRUBAKER, WAUGH, ALLOWAY, WASHINGTON AND EICHELBERGER, OCTOBER 17, 2011
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, OCTOBER 17, 2011
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of November 2011 as "Pancreatic Cancer
Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, More than 43,000 people will be diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer this year in the United States, and 36,000
will die from the disease; and
WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest cancer and the
fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is the 5th highest ranking state in the
United States in pancreatic cancer diagnoses; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of pancreatic cancer patients
die within the first year of their diagnosis, and 94% 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; and
WHEREAS, In the last 25 years, survival rates have only
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increased from 3% to 6%; 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, Incidents of pancreatic cancer are higher in men
than in women and 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 services
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 the families of those who have lost their
lives to the disease and are committed to nothing less than a
cure; and
WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is dedicated to
increasing funding for pancreatic cancer research and to
advocating for the allocation of appropriate research funding
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from the Federal Government to the National Cancer Institute to
discover and develop enhanced detection techniques and improved
treatment methods for pancreatic cancer; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of November
2011 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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