House Concurrent Resolution 16 - Introduced
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY UPMEYER, DANDEKAR, MERTZ, BOAL, WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
1 3 TYMESON, JACOBS, HEDDENS, SMITH, LUKAN, OLDSON,
1 4 FOEGE, BERRY, KRESSIG, PAULSEN, DIX, GREINER,
1 5 DRAKE, and GIPP
1 6 (COMPANION TO LSB 3591SS BY RAGAN)
1 7 A Concurrent Resolution relating to cervical cancer
1 8 awareness, and recognizing efforts by the Iowa
1 9 Department of Public Health and the Iowa Consortium
1 10 for Comprehensive Cancer Control in promoting that
1 11 awareness.
1 12 WHEREAS, after breast cancer, cervical cancer is
1 13 the second most common cancer in women on a worldwide
1 14 basis; and
1 15 WHEREAS, according to federal government
1 16 statistics, cervical cancer is the third most common
1 17 gynecological cancer among American women; and
1 18 WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society estimates that
1 19 approximately 10,370 new cases of cervical cancer will
1 20 be diagnosed in 2005, 3,710 of which will result in
1 21 fatalities; and
1 22 WHEREAS, despite the fact that with regular and
1 23 accurate screening cervical cancer is highly
1 24 preventable, and that widespread screening programs
1 25 have helped to reduce cervical cancer death rates,
1 26 fatalities continue to occur; and
1 27 WHEREAS, cervical cancer cases in the United States
1 28 are generally attributed to a lack of education,
1 29 reduced access to regular cervical cancer screening,
1 30 and inaccurate screening analysis; and
2 1 WHEREAS, experience indicates that increasing
2 2 cervical cancer awareness, especially among minority
2 3 women and women with lower incomes, significantly
2 4 reduces the probability of mortality; and that such
2 5 women are disproportionately affected by cervical
2 6 cancer because they are less likely to have access to
2 7 routine screenings and may lack insurance coverage;
2 8 and
2 9 WHEREAS, approximately half of all women diagnosed
2 10 with cervical cancer have never been screened for
2 11 cervical cancer, and 10 percent of women diagnosed
2 12 with cervical cancer have not been screened within the
2 13 five=year period preceding diagnosis; and
2 14 WHEREAS, the median age of cervical cancer patients
2 15 at diagnosis is 47, the youngest median age for all
2 16 female reproductive cancers; and
2 17 WHEREAS, new screening technologies, including
2 18 technologies approved by the federal Food and Drug
2 19 Administration for human papillomavirus testing, which
2 20 is the most important risk factor for the development
2 21 of cervical cancer, offer new opportunities to finally
2 22 eliminate this potentially deadly disease through
2 23 early identification of women at increased risk; and
2 24 WHEREAS, leading medical organizations, including
2 25 the American College of Obstetricians and
2 26 Gynecologists, the American Cancer Society, and the
2 27 Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, have
2 28 recently updated their screening guidelines to include
2 29 the technologies approved by the federal Food and Drug
2 30 Administration for human papillomavirus testing; and
3 1 WHEREAS, women are entitled to proper cervical
3 2 cancer information and access to routine screening so
3 3 they can be empowered to make informed health care
3 4 decisions; and
3 5 WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes that
3 6 through education and screening, women can lower their
3 7 likelihood for developing cervical cancer and that
3 8 through early detection, cervical cancer can be
3 9 successfully treated after it develops; NOW THEREFORE,
3 10 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
3 11 SENATE CONCURRING, That the General Assembly commends
3 12 and supports the Iowa Department of Public Health and
3 13 the Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control
3 14 in taking the lead in formulating and continually
3 15 developing the "Changing the Face of Cancer in Iowa: A
3 16 State Plan", which serves as a nationwide model of
3 17 effective cancer control strategies; in updating the
3 18 department's "Healthy Iowans 2010" publication to
3 19 include data regarding cervical cancer in Iowa women
3 20 and the evaluation of current methods used to provide
3 21 Iowa women with information regarding cervical cancer,
3 22 access to regular screening, and options for
3 23 increasing screening accuracy; and in identifying
3 24 pockets of need and priority strategies for enhancing
3 25 the ability of health care providers to recommend or
3 26 perform early detection services, programs, and
3 27 procedures for their patients; and
3 28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That updates, successes,
3 29 and progress reports related to the "Changing the Face
3 30 of Cancer in Iowa: A State Plan" shall be presented
4 1 annually to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
4 2 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
4 3 posted annually on the state of Iowa website homepage.
4 4 LSB 3591HH 81
4 5 rn:nh/pj/5.1
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