BILL NUMBER: ACR 23INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma (Principal coauthor: Senator Steinberg) FEBRUARY 17, 2011 Relative to Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 23, as introduced, Ma. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. This measure would designate March 2011 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in California, with 14,775 new cases and 5,085 deaths expected in 2011; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is treatable, curable, and in many cases, completely preventable; and WHEREAS, When colorectal cancers are detected at an early stage, five-year survival is 91 percent; and WHEREAS, There were approximately 1 million colorectal cancer survivors in the United States in 2002; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer is known as a silent killer because symptoms show up only in the later stages of the disease; and WHEREAS, With proper screening, colorectal cancer can be prevented or, if found early, treated and cured; and WHEREAS, In 2005, only 56 percent of the population in California had received colorectal cancer screening according to the guidelines; 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 (FOBT), could reduce death rates of colon cancer up to 80 percent; and WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008, 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 12 percent; and WHEREAS, Colorectal cancer screening is one of the most cost-effective prevention measures in health care, more cost effective than breast or prostate cancer screening; and WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in this country, and 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 43 percent of colorectal cancers in Asians and Pacific Islanders are 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 underserved 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 Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates March 2011 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.