Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month (2009)

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

WHEREAS, the health and well-being of all Virginians are important to the prosperity and livelihood of our families and communities; and

WHEREAS, over 42,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year in the United States, and the mortality rate for this type of cancer is ninety-nine percent, the highest of any cancer, resulting in over 35,000 deaths in the United States and 880 in Virginia in 2009; and

WHEREAS, pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States; and

WHEREAS, symptoms of pancreatic cancer usually do not appear until it is too late for an optimistic prognosis, and the average survival rate of those diagnosed with metastasis disease is only three to six months; and

WHEREAS, seventy-six percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first year of their diagnosis and ninety-five percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first five years; and

WHEREAS, there is no cure for pancreatic cancer and there have been no significant improvements in early detection, treatment methods or survival rates in the last thirty years; and

WHEREAS, it is important that doctors and scientists continue to search for a cure for pancreatic cancer and continue to educate the public about this disease and all other forms of cancer;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Timothy M. Kaine, do hereby recognize November 2009 as PANCREATIC CANCER AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.