S-0456.1  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8000

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senators Kohl‑Welles, Deccio, Thibaudeau, Winsley, Prentice, Hale, Patterson, Wojahn, Loveland, Shin, B. Sheldon, Benton, Spanel, Fairley, T. Sheldon, Bauer, Jacobsen, Eide, Gardner, Franklin, Fraser, Kline, McCaslin, Johnson, Oke, Rasmussen, Costa and McAuliffe

Read first time 01/11/1999.  Referred to Committee on Health & Long Term Care.

Requesting additional funds for prostate cancer research.

    TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE HONORABLE SLADE GORTON AND THE HONORABLE PATTY MURRAY, UNITED STATES SENATORS, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE WASHINGTON STATE DELEGATION IN CONGRESS:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, Prostate cancer, second only to lung cancer, is the leading cause of death among men; and

    WHEREAS, The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 1998 in the United States, approximately 185,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and that approximately 39,000 prostate cancer-related deaths occurred; and

    WHEREAS, With an estimated 9,000,000 men currently afflicted, the prevalence of prostate cancer makes it epidemic in the United States; and

    WHEREAS, African-American men in the United States have the highest incidence of prostate cancer of any population in the world; and

    WHEREAS, The number of prostate cancer cases diagnosed has increased significantly over the past 35 years, partly as a result of the widespread use of improved screening techniques, including screening for the prostate specific antigen; and

    WHEREAS, Awareness needs to be strengthened among men aged 40 and older to alert them to the risk of prostate cancer; and

    WHEREAS, Prostate cancer research is woefully underfunded.  Significantly more research is needed to determine the causes and most effective treatment for prostate cancer.  In 1998, though it comprised 20% of all new cancer cases, excluding skin cancer, prostate cancer received less than 4% of federal cancer research funds; and

    WHEREAS, The National Prostate Cancer Coalition, a network of prostate cancer patients advocates and supporting organizations, has presented more than 500,000 signatures to Congress and the President urging increased research funding for prostate cancer;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress and the President provide increased funding for prostate cancer research.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, the Honorable Slade Gorton, the Honorable Patty Murray, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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