Victoria Shapiro
[email protected]
(202) 414-0774
WASHINGTON (January 29, 2013) – LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit, announces the launch today of its Survivor Resource Center
to fill a growing need in the lung cancer community. As investments in research lead to progress in early detection and lung cancer treatments, more people are living longer and better with lung cancer than ever before. The Survivor Resource Center is a hub for survivors at any stage of their lung cancer journey looking for support, information about the disease, treatment options and other resources that can help make coping and living with lung cancer easier. LUNGevity’s Survivor Resource Center is the first online resource wholly devoted to lung cancer survivors.
“LUNGevity Foundation is pleased to offer the lung cancer community this vital resource. We are one of the few places lung cancer patients and their loved ones can find a community of support in their struggles with the disease,” said Andrea Stern Ferris, LUNGevity Foundation president. “As the nation’s largest private funder of lung cancer research, we are heartened that progress in treatment for the disease is helping more people survive longer and live better than ever before. LUNGevity’s Survivor Resource Center will help those affected chart the new path in survivorship.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, “Survivorship” begins at the time of diagnosis and continues during and after treatment for as long as a patient lives. Cancer survivorship includes the physical, emotional, and day-to-day issues of the cancer journey. The Survivor Resource Center arms patients with information and resources connected to their physical and emotional well being, as well as offering practical support, such as information related to receiving assistance with prescription drug costs. The Center also connects patients with peer to peer support through LUNGevity’s Lung Cancer Support Community (LCSC), the largest dedicated social network offering support to anyone touched by lung cancer.
Lung cancer survivors who helped test the Center before its launch gave their enthusiastic support.
"Being diagnosed with lung cancer five and a half years ago was frightening. I wish there had been a Survivor Resource Center at the time," said Barb Van Haren, 64, West Bloomfield Township, Mich., who is now cancer-free. "The Center's content focuses patients on key issues related to having and surviving the disease and gives them important information and resources for support. This is a wonderful resource for all of those affected by lung cancer and a significant and important addition for the growing community of lung cancer survivors."
“The Survivor Resource Center is great! This is exactly what the newly diagnosed and lung cancer survivors need,” said Heather Geraghty, 26, Maple Shade, N.J., who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010, at the age of 24.
Over the course of their lives, one in 14 Americans is affected by lung cancer. Lung cancer can afflict anyone regardless of age, gender, smoking history or skin color. Fortunately, the past decade has seen significant research-based advances in early detection and therapeutics for lung cancer patients. The 2011 National Cancer Institute’s National Lung Screening Trial showed the importance of detecting lung cancer early, and for the first time established a screening approach for a high-risk population.
Progress is being made in research for the development of blood biomarkers, genome sequencing capabilities and molecular and imaging technologies to help detect the disease. Targeted therapies are greatly improving the treatment experience, including quality of life, for some lung cancer patients, and progress is being made in both immunotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy (cutting off the blood supply to lung cancer tumors).
LUNGevity has the largest grants award program for lung cancer research among lung cancer nonprofit organizations in the United States. In the past two years, LUNGevity has awarded over $5 million to the most promising lung cancer research proposals in the areas of early detection and targeted therapeutics. To help support its mission and raise awareness of the disease, the organization hosts 75 community-building and fundraising events across the country each year.
About LUNGevity Foundation
The mission of LUNGevity Foundation is to have a meaningful impact on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensure a higher quality of life for lung cancer patients and provide a community for those impacted by lung cancer. It does so by supporting critical research into the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer, as well as by providing information, resources and a support community to patients and caregivers.
LUNGevity seeks to inspire the nation to commit to ending lung cancer.
For more information about the grants or LUNGevity Foundation, please visit www.lungevity.org.
About Lung Cancer
- 1 in 14 Americans is diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, regardless of gender or ethnicity
- Lung cancer kills almost twice as many women as breast cancer and more than three times as many men as prostate cancer
- About 55% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
- Only 16% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically.