Assembly Resolution No. 670

BY: M. of A. Rosenthal L

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim November 2023, as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in the State of New York

WHEREAS, The State of New York takes great pride in participating in months designated to raise awareness of important issues; and

WHEREAS, November 2023 will be observed as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month to create awareness of pancreatic cancer, the third-leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States, and is anticipated to become the second leading cause by 2030; and

WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer has the lowest relative survival rate of all the cancers tracked by both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute; and

WHEREAS, 74 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first year of their diagnosis and only seven percent survive more than five years; and

WHEREAS, The American Cancer Society expects 64,050 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023, and 50,550 people will die from the disease in the United States; furthermore, the American Cancer Society estimates that 2,940 New Yorkers will die from this disease this year; and

WHEREAS, There has been no significant improvement in survival rates in the last 40 years and pancreatic cancer research is still in the earliest scientific stages; and

WHEREAS, The number of new pancreatic cancer cases and the number of deaths caused by the disease are increasing; the expected number of new pancreatic cancer cases is projected to increase by 55% between the years 2010 and 2030; and

WHEREAS, When symptoms of pancreatic cancer generally present themselves, it is often too late for an optimistic prognosis, and the average survival rate is only five to seven months; and

WHEREAS, People of Eastern European Jewish and African-American descent are diagnosed at a higher frequency than the rest of the population; and

WHEREAS, Additional risk factors include but are not limited to: smoking, obesity, recent on-set diabetes, family history of pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis; and

WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer research is currently severely underfunded as compared to other cancers with similar mortality; it is urgent that we focus on this matter; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim November 2023, as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in the State of New York, and to urge its citizens to educate themselves about pancreatic cancer and the need for research funding, early detection methods, effective treatments, and prevention programs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York.