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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Modern medicine has made amazing advances in
3 fighting pediatric cancer; pediatric cancer survivors are
4 faced with a unique set of problems because of these advances;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Cure rates for pediatric cancers have risen
7 dramatically during the past 20 years; it is estimated that one
8 in every 900 adults aged 16 to 44 is a survivor of pediatric
9 cancer; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Almost 70 percent of children diagnosed with brain
11 cancer survive treatment today, a statistic that calls into
12 focus the need to look at a child's quality of life in the
13 years following treatment; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Pediatric cancer survivorship can come with a
15 price in the form of long-term medical, financial,
16 psychosocial, and/or neurocognitive problems due to
17 chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The major expenses of a pediatric cancer diagnosis
19 and treatment program are associated with the direct costs of
20 medical care, including charges for hospitalizations, clinic
21 visits, medications, tests and procedures, home health

 

 

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1 services, services of doctors and other professionals, and
2 treatment, which includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation
3 therapy, and bone marrow or peripheral stem cell
4 transplantation; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Even well-insured, middle-class families with
6 health insurance can find themselves in financial distress
7 because of a single catastrophic illness; even when the
8 family's insurance doesn't run out, health care costs can be
9 staggering for the families of children with cancer; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The State of Illinois recognizes that amazing
11 advances have been made in the treatment of pediatric cancer
12 and survivor rates; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
14 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we proclaim the week of
15 April 6-12, 2008 as the Second Annual Pediatric Cancer
16 Survivorship Week in the State of Illinois.