Whereas 62,000 Americans are diagnosed with a primary
brain tumor each year and 150,000 more are diagnosed with a metastatic brain
tumor that results from cancer spreading from another part of the body to the
brain;
Whereas brain tumors are the leading cause of death from
solid tumors in children under the age of 20 and are the third leading cause of
death from cancer in young adults ages between the ages of 20 and 39;
Whereas brain tumors may be malignant or benign, but can
be life-threatening in either case;
Whereas 612,000 Americans have been diagnosed and are
living with a brain tumor;
Whereas the treatment of brain tumors is complicated by
the fact that more than 120 different types of brain tumors exist;
Whereas the treatment of brain tumors presents significant
challenges because of—
(1)the location of
brain tumors in an enclosed bony canal;
(2)the difficulty of
delivering treatment across the blood-brain barrier;
(3)the obstacles to
complete surgical removal of the tumors; and
(4)the serious edema
that results when the blood-brain barrier is disrupted;
Whereas brain tumors have been described as a disease that
affects the essence of “self”;
Whereas brain tumor research is supported by a number of
private nonprofit research foundations and by institutes at the National
Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute and the National
Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke;
Whereas important advances have been made in understanding
brain tumors, including the genetic characterization of glioblastoma
multiforme, 1 of the deadliest forms of brain tumor;
Whereas advances in basic research may fuel the research
and development of new treatments;
Whereas daunting obstacles still remain to the development
of new treatments, and no strategies for the screening or early detection of
brain tumors exist;
Whereas a need for greater public awareness of brain
tumors exists, including awareness of the difficulties associated with research
on brain tumors and the opportunities for advances in brain tumor research and
treatment; and
Whereas May, when brain tumor advocates nationwide unite
in awareness, outreach, and advocacy activities, would be an appropriate month
to recognize as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be
it
That the Senate—
(1)designates May
2010 as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month
;
(2)encourages
increased awareness of brain tumors to honor those individuals who have lost
their lives to brain tumors, as well as those individuals who are living with
brain tumors;
(3)supports efforts
to develop better treatments for brain tumors that will improve the quality of
life and their long-term prognosis of those individuals diagnosed with a brain
tumor;
(4)expresses the
support of the Senate for those individuals who are battling brain tumors, as
well as the families, friends, and caregivers of those individuals; and
(5)urges a
collaborative public-private approach to brain tumor research as the best means
of advancing basic knowledge of, and treatments for, brain tumors.