HR 9093

1
House Resolution
2A resolution recognizing April 17-23, 2005, as "Minority
3Cancer Awareness Week" in Florida.
4
5     WHEREAS, although there has been much recent progress in
6the fight against cancer, many Floridians still suffer unequal
7rates of cancer incidence and mortality, and medically
8underserved populations have insufficient knowledge of cancer
9prevention and inadequate access to screening, treatment, and
10rehabilitation services in Florida, and
11     WHEREAS, certain populations within the state, such as
12African Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, and the medically
13uninsured, experience higher rates of cancer incidence and
14death, and, even when poverty levels are accounted for, African
15Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific
16Islanders have lower 5-year cancer survival rates than do non-
17Hispanic whites, and
18     WHEREAS, among all racial and ethnic groups, African
19Americans are the largest minority group in the state and have
20the highest death rate from all cancers in general and from lung
21and bronchial, colorectal, prostate, uterine, and female breast
22cancers in particular, and
23     WHEREAS, Hispanics and Latinos are the fastest-growing
24population in the nation and are expected to become the largest
25minority-identified population in Florida, yet almost 35 percent
26are reported to have no health care coverage and almost 31
27percent have no access to regular medical care, making them the
28most medically underserved of all racial and ethnic groups, and
29     WHEREAS, 18.7 percent of Florida's adults have no form of
30health care coverage, a circumstance frequently associated with
31a lack of access to quality health care, including potentially
32life-saving cancer screening, detection, and treatment, and
33     WHEREAS, minority cancer awareness initiatives, such as
34those promoted by the American Cancer Society and Florida's
35recognition of the nationally observed Minority Cancer Awareness
36Week, are means of promoting efforts to reduce ethnic, racial,
37and socio-economic cancer disparities, NOW, THEREFORE,
38
39Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
40Florida:
41
42     That the House of Representatives recognizes April 17-23,
432005, as "Minority Cancer Awareness Week" in Florida and urges
44all to work toward an increased awareness of the disparities
45among minority populations in the fight against cancer.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.