Louisiana SCR 117: SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH: Designates September 2019 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.

Bill Text

2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 117
BY SENATOR COLOMB
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To designate September 2019 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.
WHEREAS, while, statistically speaking, childhood cancer is rare, this "rarity",
remains the number one disease killer of children in the United States today, and in low- and
middle-income countries, scientists and physicians now believe that while mortality from
infectious diseases is declining, mortality from childhood cancer, even forms of cancer now
considered "treatable" in the United States, is increasing; and
WHEREAS, far too many Americans know a child currently battling cancer, a
childhood cancer survivor, or a family that has lost a loved one to this terrible disease; and
WHEREAS, each year more than fifteen thousand children and young adults are
diagnosed with cancer, which is over forty children each day, and twenty percent of those
stricken will not survive their bout with cancer; and
WHEREAS, some problems, like childhood cancer, can seem too big or too
overwhelming to defeat and find a cure, however, researchers, physicians, and groups of
healthcare providers have been working tirelessly every day for decades to find better
treatments and cures for children fighting cancer; and
WHEREAS, as with any seemingly intractable problem, curing childhood cancer
seems too daunting to engage in finding a cure, but every step forward, every dollar donated,
every hour spent tending to children or researching in the laboratory, moves everyone closer
to an eventual cure; and
WHEREAS, at one point in the lifetimes of Baby Boomers and others, infantile
paralysis (polio) seemed equally intractable; a solution and cure, too much of a dream, not
a reality, however, as we stand today, polio has been all but eradicated throughout the world,
an unqualified success by any measure; and
WHEREAS, with more dollars for research, the involvement of increased numbers
of medical professionals and the focused work of thousands of volunteers, childhood cancers
can meet the same fate as polio; it can be eradicated entirely; and
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SCR NO. 117 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, knowing as many details about childhood cancer as one can acquire is
a critical part of fighting this disease; and
WHEREAS, efforts toward a coordinated information-gathering campaign about
childhood cancers can facilitate more research, enable better treatment options, and empower
families and survivors; and
WHEREAS, a central element of the mission to cure childhood cancer is to ensure
that policymakers, researchers, and leaders in the healthcare community in the United States
and abroad have all the tools they need to collect data and share as much information on
childhood cancer as possible; and
WHEREAS, those parents, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers
must stand as champions of children, driving innovation and quality care to maximize
positive outcomes and providing the necessary resources to accomplish these goals; and
WHEREAS, as a support group to bring successful treatments and, eventually, cures
to these children dealing with a determined enemy in childhood cancer, adults are called to
serve those children with an enthusiastic spirit and be the champions for these children who
are unable to advocate for themselves, and to bring about treatments and cures for these
children, standing together as champions for these children.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
designate September 2019 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Gordon Gibson.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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