SLS 19RS-1655 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 138
BY SENATOR MILLS
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH. Designates September 2019 as Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month in Louisiana.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To designate September 2019 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.
3 WHEREAS, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in
4 Louisiana and the second most frequently diagnosed in men worldwide; and
5 WHEREAS, despite its frequency of diagnosis, if the cancer is detected in the early
6 stages, the survival rate is nearly one hundred percent; and
7 WHEREAS, one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his
8 lifetime; and
9 WHEREAS, the best news about prostate cancer is that screening for prostate cancer
10 is fairly easy with only a blood test, in the early stages; and
11 WHEREAS, common risk factors for prostate cancer include; age, as roughly sixty
12 percent of cases are diagnosed in men sixty-five years of age or older, the risk for a prostate
13 cancer diagnosis doubles in men with a father or brother who have had prostate cancer, there
14 is some evidence that the risk increases for those who have a diet that is high in saturated fat;
15 and African-American men are more likely to be diagnosed later in life and those who are
16 diagnosed, are nearly twice as likely to die from the disease; and
17 WHEREAS, symptoms include a variety of difficulties with urination, including
18 pain, and pain in the back, hips, or pelvis that persists; and
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SLS 19RS-1655 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, screening by a simple blood test can detect the presence of elevated
2 levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is an indicator of cancer; and
3 WHEREAS, while the blood test is not one hundred percent accurate, it is
4 recommended for men, generally, at age fifty and at age forty-five for those with family
5 members with prostate cancer; and
6 WHEREAS, as a cancer that is easily detectable with only a blood test, prostate
7 cancer could become a lessening cause of death, if screening begins fairly early, so it is
8 essential that men over fifty have the PSA screening test annually and keep a healthy weight,
9 which is the most effective step to be taken to avoid a diagnosis of prostate cancer; and
10 WHEREAS, despite being a cancer that is easily detectable in the early stages and
11 nearly one hundred percent curable at that point, prostate cancer remains the second leading
12 cause of cancer death in American men, second only to lung cancer, and about one in every
13 forty-one American men will die from prostate cancer; and
14 WHEREAS, clearly the issue with prostate cancer is not that there are not effective
15 treatments, or that diagnosis is difficult, the issue is awareness of the need to have the simple
16 blood test that will detect it in the early stages, the American Cancer Society has designated
17 the month of September as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and with a high rate of
18 prostate cancer among Louisiana men, it is fitting that Louisiana should participate in this
19 outreach effort.
20 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
21 does hereby designate September 2019 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
23 Baton Rouge chapter of the American Cancer Society.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Dozier O'Brien.
DIGEST
SR 138 Original 2019 Regular Session Mills
Designates September 2019 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.
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