| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution recognizing April 17-23, 2005, as "Minority |
| 3 | Cancer Awareness Week" in Florida. |
| 4 |
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| 5 | WHEREAS, although there has been much recent progress in |
| 6 | the fight against cancer, many Floridians still suffer unequal |
| 7 | rates of cancer incidence and mortality, and medically |
| 8 | underserved populations have insufficient knowledge of cancer |
| 9 | prevention and inadequate access to screening, treatment, and |
| 10 | rehabilitation services in Florida, and |
| 11 | WHEREAS, certain populations within the state, such as |
| 12 | African Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, and the medically |
| 13 | uninsured, experience higher rates of cancer incidence and |
| 14 | death, and, even when poverty levels are accounted for, African |
| 15 | Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific |
| 16 | Islanders have lower 5-year cancer survival rates than do non- |
| 17 | Hispanic whites, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, among all racial and ethnic groups, African |
| 19 | Americans are the largest minority group in the state and have |
| 20 | the highest death rate from all cancers in general and from lung |
| 21 | and bronchial, colorectal, prostate, uterine, and female breast |
| 22 | cancers in particular, and |
| 23 | WHEREAS, Hispanics and Latinos are the fastest-growing |
| 24 | population in the nation and are expected to become the largest |
| 25 | minority-identified population in Florida, yet almost 35 percent |
| 26 | are reported to have no health care coverage and almost 31 |
| 27 | percent have no access to regular medical care, making them the |
| 28 | most medically underserved of all racial and ethnic groups, and |
| 29 | WHEREAS, 18.7 percent of Florida's adults have no form of |
| 30 | health care coverage, a circumstance frequently associated with |
| 31 | a lack of access to quality health care, including potentially |
| 32 | life-saving cancer screening, detection, and treatment, and |
| 33 | WHEREAS, minority cancer awareness initiatives, such as |
| 34 | those promoted by the American Cancer Society and Florida's |
| 35 | recognition of the nationally observed Minority Cancer Awareness |
| 36 | Week, are means of promoting efforts to reduce ethnic, racial, |
| 37 | and socio-economic cancer disparities, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 40 | Florida: |
| 41 |
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| 42 | That the House of Representatives recognizes April 17-23, |
| 43 | 2005, as "Minority Cancer Awareness Week" in Florida and urges |
| 44 | all to work toward an increased awareness of the disparities |
| 45 | among minority populations in the fight against cancer. |