Bill Text: TX HR257 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Recognizing March 2023 as Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-08 - Reported enrolled [HR257 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HR257-Introduced.html

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88R10861 CJM-D
By: Collier H.R. No. 257

R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, March is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, and this occasion provides a fitting opportunity to promote
better understanding of this health issue; and
WHEREAS, Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed
cancers and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in
the United States; the American Cancer Society estimates that in
2023, approximately 298,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed,
and more than 43,000 women will lose their lives to the disease; and
WHEREAS, One of the many forms of breast cancer,
triple-negative breast cancer, or TNBC, accounts for about 15 to 20
percent of all diagnosed invasive breast cancer cases in the
nation, with over 53,700 new cases identified in 2019; and
WHEREAS, Due to its aggressive behavior, TNBC grows quickly,
and it is more likely to have spread by the time of detection and to
come back after treatment than other types of breast cancer; people
diagnosed with metastatic TNBC have less than a 30 percent chance of
surviving longer than five years; and
WHEREAS, Triple-negative breast cancer cells do not contain
three key receptors that medicines typically target in other types
of breast cancers; therefore, there are limited options available
for treatment; patients with an early diagnosis can often be
treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and recent
innovations in targeted therapies have fueled the fight against the
disease; and
WHEREAS, Triple-negative breast cancer disproportionately
affects younger women, Black and Hispanic women, women with type 2
diabetes or excess weight in the abdomen, and those with BRCA1
mutations; studies have shown that disease-specific mortality
rates are often higher in patients of lower socioeconomic status,
and compared to non-Hispanic white women, Black women are 48
percent less likely to receive guideline-adherent care and around
twice as likely to die from the disease; and
WHEREAS, While advances in screening and treatment have
reduced the overall breast cancer mortality rate over the last few
decades, the disproportionate impact of TNBC on racial and ethnic
minority communities calls for a heightened awareness about the
disease-related disparities in order to tackle inequities in health
care delivery such as inadequate access to screening, diagnostic
testing, and care; and
WHEREAS, TNBC is a serious and life-threatening disease, and
the observance of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Awareness Month
serves as a means of rallying support for increased early detection
and ensuring quality care for all women; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize March 2023 as Triple-Negative Breast
Cancer Awareness Month and urge all Texans to learn more about the
disease.