Senate Resolution No. 1631
BY: Senator PERSAUD
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
November 2026, as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
in the State of New York
WHEREAS, The State of New York takes great pride in participating in
months designated to raise awareness of important issues; and
WHEREAS, November 2026 will be observed as Pancreatic Cancer
Awareness Month to create awareness of pancreatic cancer, the
third-leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the
United States, and is anticipated to become the second leading cause by
2030; and
WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer has the lowest relative survival rate of
all the cancers tracked by both the American Cancer Society and the
National Cancer Institute; and
WHEREAS, 74 percent of pancreatic cancer patients die within the
first year of their diagnosis and only thirteen percent survive more
than five years; and
WHEREAS, The American Cancer Society expects 67,530 people (35,190
men and 32,340 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2026,
and 52,740 people will die from the disease in the United States;
further- more, the American Cancer Society estimates that 2,930 New
Yorkers die from this disease annually; and
WHEREAS, There has been no significant improvement in survival rates
in the last 40 years, and pancreatic cancer research is still in the
earliest scientific stages; and
WHEREAS, The number of new pancreatic cancer cases and the number of
deaths caused by the disease are increasing; the expected number of new
pancreatic cancer cases is projected to increase by 55% between the
years 2010 and 2030; and
WHEREAS, When symptoms of pancreatic cancer generally present
themselves, it is often too late for an optimistic prognosis, and the
average survival rate is only five to seven months; and
WHEREAS, People of Eastern European Jewish and African-American
descent are diagnosed at a higher frequency than the rest of the
population; and
WHEREAS, Additional risk factors include but are not limited to
smoking, obesity, recent on-set diabetes, family history of pancreatic
cancer and pancreatitis; and
WHEREAS, Pancreatic cancer research is currently severely
underfunded as compared to other cancers with similar mortality; it is
urgent that we focus on this matter; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim November 2026, as
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in the State of New York, and to urge
its citizens to educate themselves about pancreatic cancer and the need
for research funding, early detection methods, effective treatments, and
prevention programs; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.
