Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, November 2, 2010,
Item 2
Item number 2 is approve resolution proclaiming November 2010 as pancreatic cancer awareness month in Travis County.
>> good morning.
good morning, you all.
is this the third year we've done this?
>> yes.
>> thank you so much for marking this day and fortuitously it falls on dia de los muertos when we honor our loved ones who have passed on.
pancreatic cancer takes so many of our loved ones away from us.
I’ll read the proclamation and then we'll get the comments.
whereas, in 2010 an estimated 43,140 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the united states.
and 36,800 will die from the disease.
whereas pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers and is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the united states.
whereas when symptoms present themselves, it is usually too late for an optimistic prognosis and 75% of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first year of their diagnosis while 94% of pancreatic cancer patients die within the first five years.
whereas incidence is approximately 50% higher in african-americans and other ethnic groups.
whereas approximately 2200 deaths will occur in Texas in 2010.
whereas there is no cure for pancreatic cancer and there have been no significant improvement in survival rates in the last 40 years.
whereas the federal government invests significantly less money in pancreatic cancer research than it does in any of the other leading cancer killers and pancreatic cancer research constitutes only 2% of the federal research funding, a figure far too low given the severity of the disease, mortality rate.
whereas the pancreatic cancer organization serves the community in Travis County and nationwide by focusing efforts on public policy, research funding, patient services and public awareness and education related to developing effective treatments and a cure for pancreatic cancer.
whereas the pancreatic cancer action network and affiliates in Travis County support those patients currently battling pancreatic cancer as well as to those who are lost their lives to the disease and are committed to nothing less than -- and are committed to nothing less than a cure.
whereas the good health and well-being of the residents of Travis County are enhanced as a direct result of increased awareness about pancreatic cancer and research into early detection and causes and treatments.
be it resolved we designate the month of November 2010 as pancreatic cancer awareness month in Travis County.
thanks so much for being here, y'all.
>> thank you, Commissioner, Eckhardt, for sponsoring us.
I’m the advocacy coordinator of the Austin afill you ate of the pancreatic cancer network.
this is my husband and greg, our affiliate coordinator.
>> good morning.
>> I’m here first and foremost for my mother.
she died September 2006 when she was correctly diagnosed, she died seven weeks later.
it took four doctors to figure out what was wrong with her.
that is my main reason for my cause.
adding to that, most recently Travis County sheriff's office, that family just lost two of their officers within two weeks.
officer delores rosas and officer ahmad shaquille.
delores, just prior to her diagnosis she lived almost four years, which is, you know, miles beyond what most of the pancreatic cancer patients live.
delores also lost her brother to this same disease.
it was just extra shocking to her family, as you can imagine, not only to lose one sibling but to lose another to pancreatic cancer.
I know a proclamation is quite wordy, but the statistics in there that are so scary.
if every seat in the gallery was filled with people today and those people had pancreatic cancer, come back in five years, there would only be three seats, there would only be three people left there.
that's how devastating this disease is.
most recently our affiliate sponsored the second annual purple stride in Austin.
we actually held this the day after officer rosas passed away.
and we are making great strides?
-- strides in making the citizens of Travis County aware of this disease.
we raised over $141,000, had over 1,000 participants.
I’d also like to extend an invitation to the public, we are having our first vigil, purple lights, a vigil for hope, one week from today on the south steps of the capitol at 6:30 in honor of those who all passed from pancreatic cancer as well as those who are still fighting this disease.
do you want to say anything, greg?
>> just to note I’m here because I lost my mother to the disease nine years ago, seven months after her diagnosis.
a woman who was like a mentor to me growing up, she also passed away from it.
I don't know how long she knew -- how long she knew, but just we're trying to create a sense of hope and raise awareness of this disease because that's really where we are right now is only being able to raise awareness because there's so little research going on.
and so if we can raise more awareness and raise more funds to fund research, then maybe one day we'll have a hope that having early detection or a cure.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioners.
I just wanted to say that, as my wife had spoken earlier, that the Travis County sheriff's office has been impacted by this disease.
I’m here to lend support to her obviously as an advocate for pan can, but secondly I’m here also to honor the memories of the officers, delores rosas and ahmad shaquille who recently passed from this disease.
in addition 13 or 14 months ago we also had a maintenance worker who passed from pancreatic cancer as well, eloy portillo.
so we have been exact by this disease and it's a rather insidious disease that very few folks actually survive and just wanted to lend me support and also just to say that through combined charities there is always that option also to lend support to pan can.
>> also it's so important to get regular health care and have a regular relationship with a doctor so that pancreatic cancer can be detected as early as possible because it masks as so many other things.
so I just want to encourage people to maintain a relationship with a doctor who really is tracking your -- tracking your progress as a healthy person so that these sorts of things can be correctly diagnosed as soon as possible.
>> that's actually one of the programs that our organization is pushing this year is trying to educate many people, doctors, nurses, to think about pancreatic cancer as being a possible diagnosis.
as you said, the symptoms are so vague that most doctors, unless they are researching it or it's in their mind set, they are not going to think lower back pain could be a simplicity upon of pancreatic cancer.
I hate to say it, but we talk the lucky ones are the ones that get jaundice because that's a big trigger for it.
so I appreciate what you are saying and know that our organization is going after this awareness with all -- all angles that we can possible do.
>> thank you so much.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
second?
discussion?
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
good luck to you.
>> thank you.
>> keep up the good work.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, November 2, 2010 11:00 PM
