BILL NUMBER: AJR 5 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gomez
JANUARY 17, 2013
Relative to National Multicultural Cancer Awareness
Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 5, as amended, Gomez. National Multicultural Cancer
Awareness Week.
This measure would designate the week of April 20 to 26, 2014,
inclusive, as National Multicultural Cancer Awareness
Week, encourage the promotion of policies and programs that seek to
reduce cancer disparities and, as a result, improve cancer
prevention, detection, treatment, and followup care for all
Californians, and urge the President and the Congress of the United
States to recognize National Multicultural Cancer
Awareness Week.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, National Multicultural Cancer Awareness Week
has been observed across the country each year since 1987 in an
effort to bring attention to the disparities of cancer among
medically underserved populations; and
WHEREAS, The American Cancer Society is participating in National
Multicultural Cancer Awareness Week to highlight the
disparities in cancer burdens and to encourage public and private
sector commitments in helping eliminate these disparities; and
WHEREAS, California is the most populous and ethnically and
culturally diverse state in the country, and thus, is in a position
to provide leadership for the nation to address the reduction of the
incidence of cancer among all races, ethnicities, and genders; and
WHEREAS, In California, disparities exist in knowledge about
cancer, cancer survival, and access to early detection, high-quality
treatment, health care coverage, and health care. Social inequities
also exist, including differences in occupational hazards,
environmental exposures to pollution and other toxins, access to
education, nutrition, physical activity, safe neighborhoods, healthy
food options, and other factors that contribute to an increased or
reduced risk of cancer; and
WHEREAS, The risk of developing and dying from cancer varies
considerably among different cultural populations in California. The
medically underserved are often diagnosed at later stages, and with a
higher incidence of cancers with higher mortality, such as lung
cancer, and are more likely to receive delayed health care; and
WHEREAS, Cancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos, Asian
Americans, and Pacific Islanders, and is the second leading cause of
death for most other Californians; and
WHEREAS, In California, African American males have the highest
overall cancer incidence and mortality rates. African American women
are more likely to die of breast cancer, although non-Hispanic white
women are the most likely to be diagnosed with the disease. African
Americans have substantially higher rates of cancers of the stomach,
small intestine, liver, and larynx, myeloma, and Kaposi's sarcoma
than non-Hispanic whites. African American men are at especially high
risk for prostate cancer, more than any other racial and ethnic
group; and
WHEREAS, In California, lung cancer is the most common cancer
among Laotian and Vietnamese men, while prostate cancer is the most
common cancer for men in most other ethnic groups. Colorectal cancer
is the most common cancer among Kampuchean and Korean men. Despite an
overall statewide decline in colorectal cancer rates from 1988-2008,
incidence sharply increased among Koreans and Vietnamese. Asian
Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Latinos have substantially higher
rates of liver and stomach cancer than other groups. Vietnamese women
have much higher rates of cervical cancer than non-Hispanic white
women. Asian Americans have among the lowest rates of screening for
breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. There remains a lack of
data about factors related to cancer, cancer control, and effective
interventions among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and
WHEREAS, In California, Latinos have substantially higher rates of
stomach and liver cancers than other Californians. Latinos have
higher rates of acute lymphocytic leukemia and cervical cancer than
non-Hispanic whites. Latinos have the highest likelihood of being
medically uninsured, which can create serious barriers to screenings,
early detection, and treatment. Latino women have the highest risk
of developing cervical cancer, significantly higher, than
non-Hispanic white women, African American women, Asian American
women, and Pacific Islander women; and
WHEREAS, Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community are at greater risk for cancer, face specific challenges
accessing quality health care because of insurance policies that fail
to cover same-sex partners, and may hesitate to access health care
because of previous discrimination in health care settings. Lesbians
have fewer mammograms, pelvic examinations, and Pap smear tests than
heterosexual women. There remains a lack of data about factors
related to cancer, cancer control, and effective interventions in the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the President and the
Congress of the United States to recognize "National
Multicultural Cancer Awareness Week"; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature declares the week of April 20 to
26, 2014, inclusive, as "National Multicultural Cancer
Awareness Week," within the State of California, and encourages the
promotion of policies and programs that seek to reduce cancer
disparities and, as a result, improve cancer prevention, detection,
treatment, and followup care for all Californians; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.