Full Text of HR0243 095th General Assembly
HR0243 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0243 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is a chronic | 3 |
| connective tissue disease generally classified as one of the | 4 |
| autoimmune rheumatic diseases; the word "scleroderma" comes | 5 |
| from two Greek words: "sclero" meaning hard, and "derma" | 6 |
| meaning skin; and
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| WHEREAS, Hardening of the skin is one of the most visible | 8 |
| manifestations of the disease; the disease has been called | 9 |
| "progressive systemic sclerosis," but the use of that term has | 10 |
| been discouraged since it has been found that scleroderma is | 11 |
| not necessarily progressive; the disease may take several | 12 |
| forms, and there is also much variability among patients; and
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| WHEREAS, Scleroderma is not contagious, it is not | 14 |
| infectious, it is not cancerous or malignant; there are an | 15 |
| estimated 300,000 people in the United States who have | 16 |
| scleroderma, about one third of whom have the systemic form of | 17 |
| scleroderma; localized scleroderma is more common in children, | 18 |
| whereas systemic scleroderma is more common in adults; | 19 |
| scleroderma can develop and is found in every age group from | 20 |
| infants to the elderly, but its onset is most frequent between | 21 |
| the ages of 25 to 55;
and
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| WHEREAS, The Greater Chicago Chapter of the Scleroderma |
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HR0243 |
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| Foundation is working within the State of Illinois to heighten | 2 |
| awareness and aid in funding for research for this disease; and
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| WHEREAS, The mission of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the | 4 |
| Scleroderma Foundation is to help patients and their families | 5 |
| cope with scleroderma through mutual support programs, peer | 6 |
| counseling, physician referrals, and educational information; | 7 |
| to promote public awareness and education through patient and | 8 |
| health professional seminars, literature, and publicity | 9 |
| campaigns; and to stimulate and support research to improve | 10 |
| treatment and ultimately find the cause of and cure for | 11 |
| scleroderma and related diseases; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 14 |
| proclaim April 26, 2007 to be Scleroderma Awareness Day in the | 15 |
| State of Illinois, asking all the citizens of the State of | 16 |
| Illinois to take time to learn more about scleroderma and the | 17 |
| need for more funding to combat this disease; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 |
| presented to the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Scleroderma | 20 |
| Foundation as a symbol of our respect.
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