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This measure would recognize that pancreatic cancer statistics call for aggressive measures now to develop early detection and treatment tools before the incidence dramatically increases, and would proclaim November 2015 as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in California.

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WHEREAS, In 2015, an estimated 48,960 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 40,560 people will die from the disease in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and is the only major cancer with a five-year relative survival rate in the single digits at just 7 percent; and

WHEREAS, Symptoms of pancreatic cancer usually first present themselves in its late stage, and 72 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first year of their diagnosis, while 93 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first five years; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 4,300 deaths from pancreatic cancer will occur in California in 2015; and

WHEREAS, The incidence and death rate for pancreatic cancer are increasing, pancreatic cancer is anticipated to move from the fourth to the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States by 2020, and the number of deaths from the disease will increase 2.4 fold by 2030; and

WHEREAS, The federal government invests significantly less money in pancreatic cancer research than it does in research of any other leading deadly cancer, constituting only approximately 2 percent of the National Cancer Institutes research funding, a figure far too low given the severity of the disease, its mortality rate, and how little is known about how to arrest it; and

WHEREAS, The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012, formerly the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act, requires that the National Cancer Institute develop a scientific framework for combating pancreatic cancer and other recalcitrant cancers; and

WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is a national organization serving the pancreatic cancer community in California, where it is headquartered, and nationwide through a comprehensive approach, which includes public policy, research funding, patient services, and public awareness and education related to developing effective treatments and a cure for pancreatic cancer; and

WHEREAS, The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and its affiliates in California support those patients and families currently battling pancreatic cancer, as well as the friends and families of those who have lost their lives to the disease, and are committed to nothing less than a cure; and

WHEREAS, The good health and well-being of the residents of California are enhanced as a direct result of increased awareness about pancreatic cancer and research into early detection, causes, and effective treatments; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby recognizes that pancreatic cancer statistics call for aggressive measures now to develop early detection and treatment tools before the incidence dramatically increases, in light of the fact that National Cancer Institute funding is falling dangerously behind; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby proclaims November 2015 as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in California and urges all California citizens to wage hope to end pancreatic cancer; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.