Resolve, To Direct the Department of Health and Human Services To Convene a Task Force To Study the Incidence of Cancer in the State

Sec. 1. Task force established. Resolved: That the Department of Health and Human Services, referred to in this resolve as "the department," shall within its own resources establish a task force to study the high incidence of cancer in the State compared to the rest of the nation and to develop a full understanding of the causes of the high rates of cancer and to recommend and provide responses to this health crisis; and be it further

Sec. 2. Participants. Resolved: That the department may invite interested parties as needed to participate in the task force as follows:

1. Representatives of the medical community who specialize in cancer and cancer treatment;

2. Members of the public who have had cancer or who have had family members diagnosed with cancer;

3. Representatives of the scientific community who research and study cancers; and

4. Any other interested parties; and be it further

Sec. 3. Study. Resolved: That the study of the task force must include, but is not limited to, researching and studying:

1. Why Maine has a higher incidence of cancer and a higher rate of cancer mortality than the national average;

2. The degree to which the age of Maine's population and genetics contribute to the high incidence of cancer;

3. The degree to which environmental factors, such as air, water and land pollution, geography, and natural cancer-causing agents, such as radon and arsenic, contribute to Maine's cancer rate;

4. The extent to which barriers to health care in the State contribute to cancer mortality;

5. How preventable lifestyle risk factors, such as smoking, diet, exercise, obesity and sun exposure, contribute to the high incidence of cancer; and

6. How the State could assist citizens through education and cancer prevention programs; and be it further

Sec. 4. Report. Resolved: That, by January 15, 2014, the department shall produce a written report in a distributable format of the findings of the task force and any recommendations resulting from the study, which must be available to any party by request, and the department shall publish and post the report on its publicly accessible website.

summary

This resolve directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a task force to study the high incidence of cancer in the State, ways to lower the incidence of cancer and how the State can assist its citizens through education and prevention programs. The department is directed to invite interested parties to serve on the task force and to make its findings available to the public in distributable format and online.