| R 168 |
| 2020 -- H 7971 Enacted 03/05/2020 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| RECOGNIZING MAY 17, 2020, AS "DIPG AWARENESS DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
| Introduced By: Representatives Caldwell, Mattiello, McNamara, Shekarchi, and Filippi |
| Date Introduced: March 05, 2020 |
| WHEREAS, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is the leading cause of cancer- |
| related childhood death due to brain tumors, and impacts approximately 150 to 300 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 only an approximately 2 percent 5-year survival |
| rate; 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, 2020, 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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| LC005208 |
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