SENATE BILL REPORT
SJM 8000
As Passed Senate, March 4, 1999
Brief Description: Requesting additional funds for prostate cancer research.
Sponsors: 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.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Health & Long Term‑Care: 1/20/99, 2/1/99 [DP].
Passed Senate, 3/4/99, 48-0.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
& LONG-TERM CARE
Majority Report: Do pass.
Signed by Senators Thibaudeau, Chair; Wojahn, Vice Chair; Deccio, Johnson and Winsley.
Staff: Christopher Blake (786-7446)
Background: Prostate cancer is the most common nonskin cancer in American men and is the second leading cause of death. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1998 there were 184,500 men in the United States diagnosed with prostate cancer and 39,000 people died of it. Last year 3,500 diagnoses and 700 deaths were expected in Washington State. Prostate cancer is nearly twice as prevalent in African American men as it is in other races and they have the highest contraction rate of any population in the world. The National Institutes of Health spent $114 million on prostate cancer in 1998, up from $95 million in 1997. While the prostate cancer budget is increasing, it remains proportionately smaller when compared to other forms of cancer.
Summary of Bill: The President and Congress are asked to provide increased funding for prostate cancer research.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Testimony For: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death among American men. More funding is needed for research to understand the cause of the disease and to find better treatment options.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: Senator Kohl-Welles, prime sponsor; Frank Kirk, American Cancer Society (pro); Paul Sanders, American Cancer Society (pro).