WHEREAS, Lynch syndrome is caused by a genetic defect to a mismatch repair gene which is intended to correct errors which occur in DNA replication; and

WHEREAS, These errors create a very high lifetime risk of contracting various cancers, including up to 82 percent for colorectal cancer and 60 percent for endometrial cancer, as well as higher than average risk of cancers of the ovaries, the pancreas, the bladder, the kidney, the gastric tract, the hepatobiliary tract, the prostate, the breast, the skin, and the brain; and

WHEREAS, These cancers often occur at a much younger than average age and are often aggressive leading to cancer metastases in two to three years, as opposed to spontaneous cancers; and

WHEREAS, One in every 440 persons are projected to be affected by Lynch syndrome, which includes approximately 86,450 Californians; and

WHEREAS, Less than 5 percent of those persons are currently diagnosed; and

WHEREAS, In 2013, in the State of California, it was projected that 14,115 new cases of colorectal cancer were expected to occur, and 6,250 cases of uterine cancer were expected to occur, of which 3 to 5 percent of those cases would be the direct result of Lynch syndrome; and

WHEREAS, Genetic counseling and testing could identify these individuals and afford the opportunity for preventative measures of annual cancer screenings in which these cancers could be removed or treated before becoming life threatening; and

WHEREAS, These interventions are the closest thing to the equivalent of a cure of Lynch syndrome hereditary cancers and can protect families and save lives; and

WHEREAS, Education and public awareness can encourage individuals to learn their family histories of cancer and discuss them with their physicians, thereby saving tens of thousands of California lives from the threat of hereditary cancers; now, therefore, be it