R 146
2018 -- H 8041
Enacted 04/03/2018

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, Morgan, and Roberts
Date Introduced: April 03, 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 21 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.
========
LC005352
========