A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

TO RECOGNIZE February 2024 AS "world CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA MONTH" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina Senate is pleased to recognize February 2024 as "World Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month" in commemoration of all patients and caregivers impacted by the rare, lethal cancer; and

 

Whereas, founded in 2006 in Salt Lake City, Utah by a family who lost a loved one to cholangiocarcinoma, the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation has grown to become the leading global resource in research, education, and public awareness; and

 

Whereas, cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer that starts in the bile duct, which is a thin tube, about four to five inches long, that reaches from the liver to the small intestine. The major function of the bile duct is to move a fluid called bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine, where it helps digest the fats in food; and

 

Whereas, there are three types of cholangiocarcinoma: intrahepatic, extrahepatic, and perihilar. The mortality rate of this cancer has increased dramatically in the last decade; and

 

Whereas, an estimated ten thousand people in the United States develop cholangiocarcinoma each year, and almost two out of three people with bile duct cancer are sixty-five or older when it is found; and

 

Whereas, the chances of survival for patients with bile duct cancer depends to a large extent on its discovery and how advanced it is when it is found; and

 

Whereas, patients are typically diagnosed at a late stage due to there being no validated early method of detection. Jaundice, abdominal pain, itchy skin, and weight loss are symptoms that present after advanced disease progression; and

 

Whereas, cholangiocarcinoma is a rare cancer. Rare cancers have a five-year survival rate under fifty percent, with the cholangiocarcinoma five-year survival rate being approximately twenty percent; and

 

Whereas, there is currently no cure for cholangiocarcinoma; and

 

Whereas, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved durvalumab (Imfinzi), creating a new standard of care for cholangiocarcinoma patients with the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy; and

 

Whereas, foundations, research and teaching hospitals, rare cancer advocacy groups, and patient advocacy groups from around the globe have joined forces to recognize February 2024 as World Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month; and

 

Whereas, increased cholangiocarcinoma advocacy, awareness, research, and education will bring improved outcomes for patients by facilitating earlier detection and treatment and potential curative methods.  Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize February 2024 as "World Cholangiocarcinoma Awareness Month" in South Carolina.

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