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A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO RECOGNIZE OCTOBER 12 THROUGH 14,

2007 AS "COWBOYS FOR CANCER RESEARCH DAYS" IN NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, cancer is one of the leading causes of death

with one of every three women and one of every two men

contracting some form of cancer during their lifetime; and

WHEREAS, nearly every household has been touched by a

cancer-related issue; and

WHEREAS, research into the prevention and cure of cancer

is imperative for generations to come; and

WHEREAS, cowboys for cancer research was formed

twenty-five years ago with the intention of raising funds to

aid in cancer research and development at the university of

New Mexico cancer research and development center; and

WHEREAS, funds raised by the cowboys for cancer research

events help seed new research studies and buy equipment that

will benefit patients directly by providing promising new

treatments; and

WHEREAS, cowboys for cancer research is the largest

cancer fundraiser in the state of New Mexico, where one

hundred percent of the money stays in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, cowboys for cancer research is the largest,

single, consistent contributor to the university of New

Mexico cancer research and development center; and

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WHEREAS, one hundred percent of all the money donated by

cowboys for cancer research goes for cancer research and

treatment in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, cowboys for cancer research has contributed

over six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in its

successful twenty-four-year history, with one hundred forty

thousand dollars ($140,000) of this amount donated in 2006;

and

WHEREAS, all money contributed is deposited in the

cowboys for cancer research Alma Cohorn memorial endowment

fund at the university of New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico is collaborating

with the New Mexico state university chemistry department on

cancer research, and cowboys for cancer research has joined

with the university of New Mexico to help fund this important

work; and

WHEREAS, cowboys for cancer research is an all-volunteer

organization without dues or salaries of any kind; and

WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico has the only

national cancer institute-designated cancer center in New

Mexico, and these types of centers play a vital role in the

nation's cancer research and treatment agenda; and

WHEREAS, in these forty elite centers, scientists and

physicians who specialize in cancer treatment work hand in

hand to discover the causes of cancer, develop better ways to

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diagnose and treat cancers and provide leading edge,

state-of-the-art cancer care to patients in their regions;

and

WHEREAS, the center at the university of New Mexico was

named the state's official cancer center in 2004 by Governor

Bill Richardson; and

WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico is the largest

cancer treatment facility in New Mexico, treating patients in

all thirty-three counties and seeing over three thousand

newly diagnosed cancer patients each year, including

thirty-six percent of the adult cancer patients in the state

and one hundred percent of the pediatric cancer cases;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to

proclaim October 12 through 14, 2007 as "Cowboys for Cancer

Research Days"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

sent to the governor and to cowboys for cancer research.