00Enrolled HCR 1                                                                                                          
01 Proclaiming November 2011 to be Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.                                                      
02                                         _______________                                                                 
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS an estimated 43,140 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in                                   
05 the United States in 2010, and an estimated 36,800 of those will die from the disease; and                              
06      WHEREAS, as the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States,                                       
07 pancreatic cancer ranks as one of the nation's deadliest cancers; and                                                   
08      WHEREAS, by the time symptoms of pancreatic cancer first appear, it is usually too                               
09 late for an optimistic prognosis; and                                                                                   
10      WHEREAS 75 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within a year after diagnosis,                              
11 and 94 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within five years after diagnosis; and                                 
12      WHEREAS the incidence of pancreatic cancer is approximately 50 percent higher in                                 
13 African-Americans than in other ethnic groups; and                                                                      
14      WHEREAS the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics reported 158 deaths from pancreatic                                
15 cancer in Alaska during the period 2006 - 2008; and                                                                     
16      WHEREAS a cure for pancreatic cancer has not yet been found, and survival rates                                  
17 have not improved substantially in the last 40 years; and                                                               

01      WHEREAS smoking, obesity, family history of the disease, and diabetes are the                                    
02 leading known risk factors for pancreatic cancer; and                                                                   
03      WHEREAS the federal government invests significantly less money in pancreatic                                    
04 cancer research than it does in research on other forms of cancer that rank among the leading                           
05 causes of death by cancer; and                                                                                          
06      WHEREAS pancreatic cancer research funding constitutes only two percent of the                                   
07 National Cancer Institute's federal research funding--an amount far too low, given the severity                         
08 of the disease, the mortality rate, and how little is known about how to arrest the disease; and                        
09      WHEREAS the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, as the first and only national                                     
10 patient advocacy organization to serve the pancreatic cancer community in the state and                                 
11 nationwide, focuses its efforts on public policy, research funding, patient services, and public                        
12 awareness and education related to developing effective treatments and finding a cure for                               
13 pancreatic cancer; and                                                                                                  
14      WHEREAS the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, including its affiliates in the                                    
15 state, supports patients who are battling pancreatic cancer, honors those who have lost their                           
16 lives to the disease, and continues to pursue its commitment to finding and developing a cure                           
17 for pancreatic cancer; and                                                                                              
18      WHEREAS expanded research into locating the disease's causes, enhancing early                                    
19 detection, and developing effective treatments will increase awareness of and knowledge                                 
20 about pancreatic cancer among Alaskans and directly enhance the good health and well-being                              
21 of the state's residents;                                                                                               
22      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims November 2011 to be                                   
23 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.