R-236 Page 1 of 1
2024
No. R-236. House concurrent resolution recognizing March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Vermont.
(H.C.R.177)
Offered by: Representative McCann of Montpelier Whereas, colorectal cancer results from “a growth of cells that forms in the lower end of the digestive tract [, and] [m]ost of these cancers start as noncancerous growths called polyps,” and their removal can prevent the development of cancer, and Whereas, screening, as a prerequisite for possible removal of polyps, is recommended for persons who are at least 45 years of age, but one in three persons in the 50-to-75-year age range are not screened for colorectal cancer, and Whereas, colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States, and the American Cancer Society estimated that, in 2023, colorectal cancer would be detected in 153,020 persons, and 52,550 deaths would be recorded, 3,750 of which would be individuals under 50 years of age, and Whereas, medical experts project that by 2030, colorectal cancer will be the most frequent cause of death due to cancer among persons under 50 years of age, and Whereas, the American Cancer Society has documented that Black Americans are approximately 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 40 percent more likely to die after being positively diagnosed; and that for male Hispanic Americans,
colorectal cancer causes roughly 11 percent of cancer deaths; and for female Hispanic Americans the comparable figure is nine percent, and Whereas, the American Cancer Society, through the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Campaign, is engaged in an important effort to raise the national colorectal cancer screening rates to 80 percent, an increase, that, if successful, could reduce the prevalence of colorectal cancer in this country, and Whereas, there is an urgency to educate Vermonters concerning the threat of colorectal cancer, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly recognizes March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Vermont, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the American Cancer Society of Vermont and to Dr. Peter Moses at the Larner College of
Medicine at the University of Vermont.
VT LEG #375743 v.1