[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BRAIN TUMOR AWARENESS WEEK

  (Mr. ROTHMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, this is Brain Tumor Awareness Week. Each 
year 100,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a 
primary or metastatic brain tumor. Brain tumors are the second leading 
cause of cancer death for children under 19, and the third leading 
cause of cancer death for young adults ages 20 to 39.
  Brain tumors attack the essence of the individual. They attack the 
control center for thought, emotion and movement. There are over 100 
different types of brain tumors, making effective treatment very 
complicated. Currently, there is no cure for most malignant brain 
tumors. Only 37 percent of men and 52 percent of women survive 5 years 
following the diagnosis of a primary benign or malignant brain tumor.
  Congress needs to appropriate increased funding for the National 
Institutes of Health and advocate for a strong investment in brain 
tumor research. We also need Federal legislation that gives patients 
access to clinical trials and other therapies that are not approved yet 
by the Food and Drug Administration. I urge more research for brain 
tumors and more funding for the NIH.

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