Bill Text: NY K00394 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November 1, 2021, as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-07 - adopted [K00394 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-K00394-Introduced.html

Assembly Resolution No. 394

BY: M. of A. Rosenthal L

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        November 1, 2021, as Lung Cancer Screening Awareness
        Day in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  of this Legislative Body to recognize
official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious health
issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  it  is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim November  1,  2021,  as
Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, 235,760 Americans
will  be  newly  diagnosed with lung cancer this year and lung cancer is
the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States; and

  WHEREAS, Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death
in New York State, with close to 14,000 New York State  residents  being
diagnosed  with  the disease in 2021, and an estimated 6,860 New Yorkers
will die from lung cancer this year; and

  WHEREAS, Any person is at risk for developing lung cancer, as  there
are  many  risk factors including smoking, family history, environmental
causes and other lifestyle factors; and

  WHEREAS, Nearly half of lung cancer cases are not detected until  it
is  too  late,  and  the  survival  rate  is  only six percent for those
diagnosed at a late stage; and

  WHEREAS, The screening and early detection of lung cancer are  vital
to the health and well-being of New York State residents; and

  WHEREAS,  More needs to be done to educate high-risk Americans about
lung cancer, as it accounts for more deaths than breast,  prostate,  and
colorectal cancer combined; and

  WHEREAS,   The   United  States  Preventative  Services  Task  Force
recommends annual screening  for  lung  cancer  with  low-dose  computed
tomography  (LDCT) in adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year
smoking history and currently smoke or have  quit  within  the  past  15
years;  screening  people  who are at high risk for lung cancer can find
lung cancer at an early stage and improve their  chances  of  surviving;
and

  WHEREAS,  Lung  cancer  screening  with  low-dose  CT scans has been
recommended for those at high risk since 2013, but according  to  a  new
report released in 2020 by the American Lung Association (ALA), only 5.7
percent  of the eight million people who are at high-risk for developing
the disease are actually undergoing screening; and

  WHEREAS, Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans has been shown
to decrease mortality by 20 percent; and


  WHEREAS,  Since  the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-sectional
analyses have revealed a 46-percent  plummet  in  new  cancer  diagnoses
nationwide across six common forms of cancer, including lung cancer; and

  WHEREAS, The National Cancer Institute (NCI) states that lung cancer
screenings  can  find abnormal tissues or lung cancer at an early stage,
before a person has symptoms, and can make lung cancer easier  to  treat
and achieve higher survival rates; waiting to treat until after symptoms
appear  may increase the likelihood the cancer has already metastasized;
and

  WHEREAS, This  year  marks  the  50th  Anniversary  of  passing  the
National  Cancer  Act,  yet  screening  for and education of lung cancer
continues to be alarmingly low compared to other forms of cancer; and

  WHEREAS, It is imperative that there  be  greater  public  awareness
about  the risk of lung cancer to New Yorkers and the importance for New
York citizens to talk to their  healthcare  provider  about  recommended
lung  cancer  screenings,  and  be  screened  with  low-dose CT scans as
appropriate; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Andrew  M. Cuomo to proclaim November 1, 2021, as
Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Day in the State of New York; and be  it
further

  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the  State  of
New  York;  the  American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network New York;
and the American Lung Association in New York.
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