HR 9131

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution recognizing the month of September 2008 as
3	"Prostate Cancer Awareness Month" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer
6	diagnosed among men in Florida, and the state has the second
7	highest number of prostate cancer deaths and the third highest
8	number of prostate cancer cases in the United States, and
9	WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society estimates that during
10	the year 2008 more than 11,380 new cases of prostate cancer will
11	be diagnosed among Florida men, and
12	WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society also anticipates there
13	will be more than 2,520 deaths in Florida this year due to
14	prostate cancer, and
15	WHEREAS, African-American and black men have the highest
16	rate of prostate cancer death in the world and a mortality rate
17	for the disease that is twice that of Caucasian men, and
18	WHEREAS, the American Cancer Society recommends that annual
19	prostate cancer testing begin at age 50 except for high-risk
20	men, such as African-Americans and men with a family history of
21	the disease, who are urged to begin annual screening at age 45,
22	and
23	WHEREAS, the five-year survival rate for prostate cancer
24	patients is nearly 100 percent if the disease is diagnosed at
25	the local and regional stages, otherwise known as the early
26	stages, and
27	WHEREAS, each year, the American Cancer Society supports
28	African-American Men's Health Summits in at least 16 major
29	metropolitan areas across the state in an attempt to increase
30	prostate cancer awareness, education, and support and to
31	encourage prostate screening among African-American men in
32	Florida, and
33	WHEREAS, the Man-to-Man program of the American Cancer
34	Society attempts to increase prostate cancer awareness,
35	education, and support during the month of September, in
36	particular, but throughout the rest of the year as well, NOW,
37	THEREFORE,
38
39	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
40	Florida:
41
42	That the House of Representatives recognizes the month of
43	September 2008 as "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month" in Florida
44	and urges all men to avail themselves of a better understanding
45	of the risks associated with prostate cancer, to take preventive
46	measures to minimize those risks, and to talk with their doctors
47	about annual prostate cancer screening as recommended by the
48	American Cancer Society prostate cancer screening guidelines.

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