R 168

2018 -- H 8053 Enacted 04/04/2018

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING MAY 17, 2018, AS "DIPG AWARENESS DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Representatives Giarrusso, McNamara, Shekarchi, Chippendale, and

Date Introduced: April 04, 2018

WHEREAS, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is the leading cause of childhood

death due to brain tumors and impacts between 200 to 400 children each year in the United

States; and

WHEREAS, DIPG typically strikes children between the ages of four and eleven years

old; and

WHEREAS, DIPG is the deadliest childhood brain tumor, with a median survival rate

from the time of diagnosis of only 9 months, and a near zero percent survival rate overall; and

WHEREAS, Because of its location in the brainstem where all motor activity is

controlled, DIPG is inoperable. The disease progresses by taking over a child’s motor functions

one-by-one, typically starting with vision and balance problems, before moving to partial

paralysis, followed by the inability to chew, speak, swallow, move and eventually breathe – all of

this while the child remains mentally intact; and

WHEREAS, For more than 40 years, treatment for DIPG remained the same and the

prognosis for children diagnosed with this deadly disease did not improve. But in the past few

years, due to better medical technology and increased access to tumor tissue, researchers have

made real advances in their understanding of this disease; and

WHEREAS, There is finally hope for progress in finding a cure - by raising awareness,

supporting expanded research, developing effective treatments, and providing comprehensive

care for children with DIPG and their families; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby recognizes May 17, 2018, as "DIPG Awareness Day" and

encourages all Rhode Islanders to become more informed about diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma

(DIPG) pediatric brain cancer, and moreover urges the National Cancer Institute and other

research funders to elevate their consideration in designating sufficient research funding for

pediatric cancers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Wendy and Dean Fachon, and the Rhode Island

Congressional Delegation.

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LC005429

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