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TO DECLARE MAY 2021 AS "CYSTIC FIBROSIS AWARENESS MONTH" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, cystic fibrosis, commonly referred to as CF, is a genetic disease affecting approximately thirty thousand children and adults in the United States and nearly seventy thousand children and adults worldwide, over four hundred of whom live in South Carolina; and
Whereas, a defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, and these secretions produce life-threatening lung infections and obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food; and
Whereas, with more than ten million Americans as symptomless carriers of the defective cystic fibrosis gene, cystic fibrosis occurs in approximately one of every three thousand five hundred live births in the United States; and
Whereas, the median age of survival for a person with cystic fibrosis is forty-four years; and
Whereas, with advances in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, the number of adults with the disease has steadily grown, and approximately nine hundred new cases are diagnosed each year; and
Whereas, more than half of those with cystic fibrosis are eighteen years of age and older, and people with cystic fibrosis have a variety of symptoms attributed to the more than one thousand eight hundred mutations of the cystic fibrosis gene; and
Whereas, infant blood screening to detect genetic defects is the most reliable and least costly method to identify persons likely to have cystic fibrosis, and more than seventy-five percent of people with cystic fibrosis are diagnosed by age two; and
Whereas, early diagnosis of cystic fibrosis permits early treatment and enhances quality of life and longevity, and the treatment of cystic fibrosis depends on the stage of the disease and the organs involved; and
Whereas, clearing mucus from the lungs is an important part of the daily cystic fibrosis treatment regimen. Other types of treatments include, but are not limited to, inhaled antibiotics and pancreatic enzymes; and
Whereas, there are four world-class treatment centers in South Carolina that specialize in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and the care of people with cystic fibrosis; and
Whereas, a critical component of treating patients with cystic fibrosis is access to innovative treatments, which can play a crucial role in the lives of patients with the disease; and
Whereas, improving the length and quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis starts with awareness. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, declare May 2021 as "Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month" in South Carolina.
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