2023 -- H 6365

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LC002870

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING MAY OF 2023, AS "NATIONAL SKIN CANCER AWARENESS

MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Ackerman, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, McNamara,
Chippendale, Cotter, Fenton-Fung, Carson, Tanzi, and Boylan

     Date Introduced: May 04, 2023

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and worldwide,

with 5.4 million cases being diagnosed in the United States annually, which represents more than

9,500 every day, and sadly, more than two people die of the disease every hour; and

     WHEREAS, More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the United States

than all other cancers combined. At least one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the

age of 70. Actinic Keratosis is the most common pre-cancer, affecting more than 58 million

Americans. The annual cost of treating skin cancers in the United States is estimated at eight

billion dollars; and

     WHEREAS, Skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer. Approximately

90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers and 86 percent of melanoma cases are associated with

exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Having five or more sunburns doubles your risk for

melanoma; and

     WHEREAS, When detected early, the five-year survival rate for melanoma is 99 percent.

Advocacy, increased awareness, promoting ultraviolet light protection, and skin cancer screening

will result in a meaningful reduction in the burden of skin cancer; and

     WHEREAS, Members of the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island, physicians

at Brown Dermatology, the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Comprehensive Cancer Control

Program, and Lifespan Community Health Institute are diligently working cooperatively to

accomplish statewide Skin Cancer Prevention; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

commemorates May of 2023, as "National Skin Cancer Awareness Month" in the State of Rhode

Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode

Island, Brown Dermatology, the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Comprehensive Cancer

Control Program, and the Lifespan Community Health Institute.

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LC002870

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