BILL NUMBER: SCR 22ENROLLED BILL TEXT ADOPTED IN SENATE MAY 6, 2009 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg (Coauthor: Assembly Member Bass) MARCH 9, 2009 Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 22, Steinberg. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. This measure would designate March 2009, as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in California, with 14,250 new cases and 5,140 deaths expected in 2009; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many cases, completely preventable; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is known as a silent killer because symptoms show up only in later stages of the disease; and WHEREAS, With proper screening, colorectal cancer can be prevented or, if found early, treated and cured; and WHEREAS, Currently, only about 40 percent of the eligible population is screened; and WHEREAS, According to the Institute of Medicine, access to appropriate use of colorectal cancer screening tests, such as colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and fecal occult blood test, could reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 80 percent; and WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in 2004, only about 44 percent of colorectal cancers were diagnosed at an early, more treatable and curable stage; and WHEREAS, The uninsured, underinsured and underserved are least likely to get screening and treatment for colorectal cancer, which means that they are more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage when chances of survival drop to 9 percent; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more cost-effective than breast cancer screening; and WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this country; and WHEREAS, Early detection rates among African Americans in California are low; and WHEREAS, Hispanics and Latinos in California have lower rates of screening for colorectal cancer, and lower rates of early detection of the disease; and WHEREAS, In California, colorectal cancer is the most common cancer among Korean men, the second most common cancer among Korean women, and the second most common cancer among Japanese men and women, and only 40 percent of colorectal cancer in Asians and Pacific Islanders is caught at an early stage; and WHEREAS, The California Colorectal Cancer Coalition (C4) is a nonprofit organization established to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in an effort to decrease mortality associated with the disease, and implement strategies to reduce disparities in colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment among populations in California; and WHEREAS, C4 encourages Californians to discuss the colorectal cancer screening test that is best for them with their doctors and believes that the best test is the one you have done; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates March 2009, as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.