HR106

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

106

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Designating may 17, 2021 as DIPG Awareness Day.

 

 

WHEREAS, the legislature finds that for the past three years Governor Ige has declared May 17th as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day; and

 

        WHEREAS, according to national statistics there are approximately two hundred to three hundred new cases of DIPG annually in the United States; and

 

        WHEREAS, DIPGs are highly aggressive and difficult to treat brain tumors that occur at the base of the brain; and

 

        WHEREAS, these tumors are found in an area of the brainstem that controls vital functions including breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate; and

 

        WHEREAS, the location of the tumors does not generally allow for their surgical removal; and

 

        WHEREAS, these tumors are generally treated with radiation therapy but currently no successful chemotherapeutic agent has been obtained; and

 

        WHEREAS, DIPG largely affects the pediatric population as it is usually diagnosed during childhood between the ages of five and nine years of age; and

 

        WHEREAS, DIPG tumors occur equally in boys and girls and does not generally appear in adulthood; and

 

        WHEREAS, patients afflicted by DIPG do not generally survive beyond a year after initial diagnosis; and

 

        WHEREAS, only one per cent of children diagnosed with DIPG survive more than three years; and

 

        WHEREAS, as such, DIPG occurs in the most vulnerable among us; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that May 17, 2021 be designated as    DIPG Awareness Day    and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that his designation will encourage the Department of Education, the Department of Health, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to increase public awareness so each individual in the United States becomes better informed and aware of DIPG; and

 

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, the Director of Health, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:  

DIPG Awareness Day