SR0612 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Modern medicine has made amazing advances in fighting pediatric cancer; pediatric cancer survivors are faced with a unique set of problems because of these advances; and

WHEREAS, Cure rates for pediatric cancers have risen dramatically during the past 20 years; it is estimated that one in every 900 adults aged 16 to 44 is a survivor of pediatric cancer; and

WHEREAS, Almost 70 percent of children diagnosed with brain cancer survive treatment today, a statistic that calls into focus the need to look at a child's quality of life in the years following treatment; and

WHEREAS, Pediatric cancer survivorship can come with a price in the form of long-term medical, financial, psychosocial, and/or neurocognitive problems due to chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery; and

WHEREAS, The major expenses of a pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment program are associated with the direct costs of medical care, including charges for hospitalizations, clinic visits, medications, tests and procedures, home health services, services of doctors and other professionals, and treatment, which includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplantation; and

WHEREAS, Even well-insured, middle-class families with health insurance can find themselves in financial distress because of a single catastrophic illness; even when the family's insurance doesn't run out, health care costs can be staggering for the families of children with cancer; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois recognizes that amazing advances have been made in the treatment of pediatric cancer and survivor rates; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we proclaim the week of April 6-12, 2008 as the Second Annual Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Week in the State of Illinois.