Lung Cancer-5 Reasons to be Hopeful

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer killer, claiming more lives than the next four major cancers combined, but believe it or not, there are many reasons to be hopeful.

Thanks to LUNGevity, the month of May is Lung Cancer Hope Month, and here are just 5 reasons we can all be hopeful:

• Research

Organizations like LUNGevity are funding live-saving research to stop lung cancer and find more treatment options for people to live longer with the disease.

• Education

Healthcare providers and organizations are getting better at educating patients and families about the disease, treatment options, side effects, and clinical trials. LUNGevity’s comprehensive free website offers resource centers, patient education materials, and expert forums.

• Programs

There are more organizations and treatment facilities offering programs and assistance for patients and families impacted by lung cancer.

• Support

Although rare, there are some lung cancer—specific support groups across the country. For those areas that do not have in-person support groups, LUNGevity offers free online support and a free mentor matching service called LifeLine so that no one ever feels isolated or alone.

• Community

The lung cancer community is growing! There are more survivors who are empowered to share their stories and put a face on lung cancer and change misconceptions about the disease. LUNGevity provides survivor conferences and ways to help raise awareness. There is also a growing population of healthcare providers, advocates, and organizations who believe in collaboration and work together in multiple ways to raise awareness of the disease.

The goal of this month is to raise awareness and increase hope about the disease.

Hope grows out of education, information, collaboration, and connection with others who have been in similar situations. Hope grows from funding research, including clinical trials, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies that extend survival rates. Hope also grows with more public awareness that lung cancer can happen to anyone and of the need for action to support all those impacted by it.

There is a lot of work to do if we want to change the survival rates for lung cancer. As we work to increase all the reasons to be hopeful, we are moving in the right direction. __________________________________________________________________________________

Katie Brown is vice president, Support and Survivorship Programs, with the LUNGevity Foundation, a certified Patient Navigator, and is the foundation’s social media strategist.