Florida Senate - 2011 (NP) SR 2198
By Senator Braynon
33-03986-11 20112198__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing April 16-22, 2011, as
3 “Minority Cancer Awareness Week” in Florida.
4
5 WHEREAS, there has been recent progress in the fight
6 against cancer, yet due to disparities in the cancer burden
7 among different segments of the U.S. population, many Floridians
8 still suffer unequal rates of cancer incidence and mortality,
9 and medically underserved populations have inadequate access to
10 quality cancer care, and
11 WHEREAS, for certain minority populations, cancer risks and
12 rates may be influenced by factors such as poverty, social
13 inequalities, and cultural or inherited factors that decrease or
14 increase risk, and
15 WHEREAS, disparities in the cancer burden among racial and
16 ethnic minorities largely reflect obstacles to receiving health
17 care services related to cancer prevention, early detection, and
18 high-quality treatment, and
19 WHEREAS, lack of health insurance is more prevalent among
20 certain minority groups, with 1 in 5 African Americans and 1 in
21 3 Hispanics and Latinos uninsured in 2008, while only 1 in 10
22 non-Hispanic whites lacked health insurance during that same
23 year, and
24 WHEREAS, African Americans have the highest death rate and
25 shortest survival of any racial and ethnic group in the nation
26 for most cancers, with the death rate for all cancers combined
27 at 33 percent higher in African American men and 16 percent
28 higher in African American women than in white men and women in
29 2005, and
30 WHEREAS, despite improvements in the overall 5-year
31 relative survival, African Americans continue to be less likely
32 to survive 5 years following the onset of most cancers due
33 largely to barriers that prevent timely and high-quality medical
34 care and disparities in treatment, and
35 WHEREAS, Hispanics and Latinos are the largest, fastest
36 growing minority group in the United States, and among
37 Hispanics, cancer is the second leading cause of death,
38 accounting for 20 percent of deaths overall and 13 percent of
39 deaths in children, and
40 WHEREAS, Hispanics have higher rates of cancers associated
41 with infection, such as uterine cervix, liver, and stomach
42 cancer, yet are less likely to have health insurance than any
43 other racial or ethnic group, and
44 WHEREAS, access to care is one of the most significant
45 factors influencing the cancer burden in the Hispanic
46 population, and many may not receive health care due to
47 financial barriers, which include inadequate health insurance,
48 structural barriers, which include poor geographic access to
49 providers, and personal barriers, which include cultural and
50 linguistic factors, and
51 WHEREAS, minority cancer awareness initiatives and policies
52 aimed at reducing disparities, such as those promoted and
53 supported by the American Cancer Society and Florida’s
54 recognition of the nationally observed Minority Cancer Awareness
55 Week, will encourage efforts to reduce ethnic, racial, and
56 socioeconomic cancer disparities, NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
59
60 That April 16-22, 2011, is recognized as “Minority Cancer
61 Awareness Week” in Florida.
62 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all Floridians are urged to
63 support the efforts of cancer education providers, such as the
64 American Cancer Society, to increase awareness of the
65 disparities that minority populations face in the fight against
66 cancer, and to support policies that seek to reduce disparities,
67 such as the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early
68 Detection Program and Minority Health Initiatives within the
69 Florida Department of Health.