Bringing innovation to light during Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to celebrate the stories of survivors, raise awareness about the leading cause of cancer death and continue the search for innovative new treatments and cures.

Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer for both men and women in the U.S. according to the American Lung Association, and in 2015 alone, approximately 27 percent of all cancer deaths will be from lung cancer. With lung cancer being the leader cancer killer in both men and women in the U.S., it is important to recognize the innovation happening to treat this deadly disease.

A lung cancer diagnosis used to carry a poor prognosis for many patients, but thanks in part to medicines, patients are living longer than ever before. The overall cancer death rate has fallen 22 percent since its peak in 1991and the chances that a lung cancer patient will live 5 years or more after diagnosis has increased by 60 percent. As part of this progress, more than 23 million years of collective life has been saved through cancer treatment advances between 1988 and 2000.

According to American Lung Association president and CEO Harold P. Wimmer, "Although the future may be uncertain for some, we are putting everything we have into changing the trajectory of this disease. We want researchers, patients and their loved ones to know that we're in their corner."

Earlier this year, one lung cancer patient, Matt Ellefson, shared his inspirational story about the powerful impact advances and innovations in cancer medicines have had on his life.

 

Stories like Matt’s are why we need to ensure that we maintain an ecosystem that encourages the development of innovative, life-changing medicines.

 

Thanks to innovations in cancer care and the work of organizations such as the American Lung Association to raise awareness of this deadly disease, we are helping patients live longer, healthier lives. And these are the stories we want to keep telling.

To learn more about advances in cancer care, visit http://www.fromhopetocures.org/fighting-cancer.