Bill Text: PA HR271 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designating the month of April 2009 as "Neuroblastoma Month" in Pennsylvania and highlighting a special event, Dance Philly! Every Step Counts!, to support the Susanna DeLaurentis Charitable Foundation's efforts to combat this deadly disease.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2009-04-29 - Adopted [HR271 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HR271-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1660
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 271 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY CURRY, BEAR, BEYER, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DELOZIER, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HELM, HENNESSEY, KOTIK, KULA, MAHONEY, MAJOR, McCALL, MELIO, MILLARD, MOUL, MUSTIO, PALLONE, PAYNE, QUINN, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROSS, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER, TRUE, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, CONKLIN, CUTLER AND BELFANTI, APRIL 28, 2009
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, APRIL 28, 2009
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of April 2009 as "Neuroblastoma Month" in
Pennsylvania and highlighting a special event, Dance Philly!
Every Step Counts!, to support the Susanna DeLaurentis
Charitable Foundation's efforts to combat this deadly
disease.
WHEREAS, In the United States, cancer is the leading cause of
death by disease among children under 15 years of age; and
WHEREAS, In 2008, in the United States, approximately 10,700
children under 15 years of age were diagnosed with cancer, and
more than 1,500 children were expected to die from cancer; and
WHEREAS, Neuroblastoma is an extremely malignant and
treatment-resistant form of childhood cancer involving tumors of
the sympathetic nervous system; and
WHEREAS, Neuroblastoma is often not diagnosed until late in
its progression; and
WHEREAS, Susanna DeLaurentis of Elkins Park, Montgomery
County, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma as a child and was not
expected to survive the eight months of aggressive treatment,
much of it experimental; and
WHEREAS, Children with neuroblastoma may go through multiple
rounds of high-dose intensive chemotherapy, followed by surgery,
local and total-body radiation and finally an autologous bone
marrow transplant; and
WHEREAS, Susanna was placed in a full-body cast, in a
specially isolated room behind a lead barrier and injected with
an experimental radioactive chemical to seek and destroy any
malignancy that may have survived the other treatments; and
WHEREAS, Although Susanna's remarkable recovery and
subsequent five symptom-free years were quite unexpected and
were an enduring inspiration to peers and professionals alike,
Susanna's symptoms returned when she was only eight years of
age; and
WHEREAS, Susanna underwent another set of intensive
treatments but, despite her successful initial response to
treatment, relapsed and passed away at ten years of age on
November 27, 1999; and
WHEREAS, The Susanna DeLaurentis Charitable Foundation was
established to raise funds to support primary research into the
causes and possible cure or treatment of neuroblastoma and
cystic fibrosis, the most common fatal inherited disease in
North America, which affects one in every 3,900 American
newborns; and
WHEREAS, A special event, Dance Philly! Every Step Counts!,
will be held on November 6, 2009, at the Holiday Inn-Stadium in
Philadelphia, with the proceeds benefitting the Susanna
DeLaurentis Charitable Foundation; therefore be it
20090HR0271PN1660 - 2 -
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of April 2009 as "Neuroblastoma Month" in Pennsylvania in
memory of Susanna DeLaurentis and all victims of this disease
and encourage all the citizens of this Commonwealth to join in
the fight against neuroblastoma and other forms of childhood
cancer.
20090HR0271PN1660 - 3 -