[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7] [Senate] [Pages 9421-9422] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]NATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR AWARENESS MONTH Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate proceed to S. Res. 537. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the resolution by title. The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A resolution (S. Res. 537) designating May 2010 as ``National Brain Tumor Awareness Month.'' There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The resolution (S. Res. 537) was agreed to. The preamble was agreed to. The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows: S. Res. 537 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; [[Page 9422]] 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 Resolved, 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. ____________________