Quigley Introduces Resolution Recognizing May as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced a bipartisan resolution, H.Res.679, designating May 2016 as “National Brain Tumor Awareness Month,” when brain tumor advocates nationwide unite in awareness, outreach, and advocacy activities.
“The numbers and statistics that someone with a brain tumor faces are daunting. The five–year relative survival rate in the U.S. following diagnosis is only 34.4%. Brain tumors are the leading cause of death from cancer in children under the age of 14. And sadly, over 16,000 people will die from a brain tumor this year alone,” said Rep. Quigley. “Given the brain's uniquely complex and fragile nature, treatment and removal of brain tumors present significant challenges. But President Obama’s cancer “moonshot” initiative reminds us that there is no goal too large to conquer. It is my hope that by designating May 2016 as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month, we will see greater public awareness of brain tumors and move one step closer to ending this devastating disease.”
Watch a video of Rep. Quigley speaking on the House floor about his resolution here.
Nearly 78,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with a primary brain tumor this year, and up to 170,000 more will be diagnosed with metastatic brain tumors that are the result of cancer spreading from another part of the body to the brain. Sadly, over 16,000 people in the United States will lose their battle with a brain tumor this year. Unbeknownst to many, brain tumors are the leading cause of death from cancer in children under the age of 14, second leading cause of death from cancer for children and teens under the age of 20, and third leading cause of death from cancer in young adults ages 20 to 39.
The treatment and removal of brain tumors present significant challenges because of the brain's uniquely complex and fragile nature, due in part to there being more than 120 different types of tumors. While brain tumor research is supported by a number of private nonprofit research foundations and by institutes at the National Institutes of Health, there still remain daunting obstacles to the development of new treatments. Moreover, there are currently no strategies for screening or early detection of brain tumors.
Despite the number of new people diagnosed with a brain tumor every year, and their devastating prognosis, there have only been four FDA-approved drugs and one device to treat brain tumors in the past 30 years. On top of that, the four approved drugs have provided only incremental improvements to patient survival, and mortality rates remain little changed over the past 30 years. There is clearly a need for greater public awareness of brain tumors, including the difficulties associated with research on these tumors and the opportunities for advances in brain tumor research and treatment.
Rep. Quigley’s resolution is endorsed by American Brain Coalition; American Brain Tumor Association; American Cancer Society; C-Change; National Brain Tumor Society; and Society for Neuro-Oncology.