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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 12, 2015 03:49 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Matt Smith |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Resolution Designating February 22, 2015 as “Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Awareness Day” in the Commonwealth |
| In the near future, I will be introducing a resolution designating February 22, 2015, as “Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day” in the Commonwealth to honor the memory of Joey Fabus. Joey Fabus was a resident of Bethel Park, in the 37th Senate District, who recently passed away after an eight month long battle with DIPG. Joey was only eight years of age when he passed away and his ninth birthday would have been on February 22, 2015. The news of Joey’s illness and his battle against DIPG captured the hearts of residents of Bethel Park and surrounding communities who supported and encouraged Joey and his family with the mantra “Joey Strong” or “Stay Joey Strong”. Sadly, Joey lost his battle with the disease, but his and his family’s efforts to raise awareness about DIPG live on. DIPG is a high grade glioma malignant tumor that originates in the brain stem and is extremely difficult to treat due to the location of the tumor. Surgery is rarely possible and the most common course of treatment is radiation and chemotherapy. DIPG occurs almost exclusively in children and, sadly, 90% of patients die within two years of diagnosis. DIPG and other childhood cancers remain the leading disease related cause of death in children. According to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, in 2014, approximately 15,780 children and adolescents ages birth to 19 were diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, nearly 2,000 children and adolescents lose their battle to cancer on an annual basis. In an effort to raise awareness of DIPG and other childhood cancers, please join me in co-sponsoring this resolution designating February 22, 2015, as “Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Awareness Day” in the Commonwealth to honor the memory of Joey Fabus. Stay Joey Strong. |
Introduced as SR24