LungBlog

U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel presented the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation’s Luminosity Award to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein Nov. 9 in the presence of 650 guests at the foundation’s annual “Simply The Best Gala” at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
The award acknowledged Feinstein’s work in the fight against cancer, especially lung cancer.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Unfortunately, lung cancer does not get much press, even though it takes the lives of more Americans each year than breast, prostate, colon liver and kidney cancers and melanoma combined.This year, for the first time, both houses of the state Legislature have memorialized November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Both Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings have signed proclamations declaring November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

“This is a watershed moment for the entire lung cancer community and all of those at risk for the disease in Massachusetts,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President and CEO.  “We thank Senator Fargo for her willingness to step forward and address the critical need for increased lung cancer research for treatments and early detection.”

Today, for the first time ever, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously declared lung cancer a public health priority and called for a reduction in mortality “by at least half by 2015.”

 November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Nearly 160,400 Americans are expected to die from lung cancer this year, more than colon, breast, pancreas and prostate deaths combined.

Little progress has been made due to the stigma associated with the disease and so few survivors. Lung cancer is the least researched and funded of all the cancers. However, perceptions are slowly changing.

Whether they know it yet or not, countless numbers of Illinois residents have just been given a powerful weapon in the fight of their lives. On Aug. 27, state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, championed and ultimately won passage of Illinois Senate Bill 796, which created the landmark lung cancer research fund. This vital legislation will allow Illinois residents to allocate a portion of their 2007 state income tax to lung cancer research simply by checking a box on their tax return.

Ask the Presidential candidates what they will do to stop the lung cancer epidemic. Your questions may be answered during the upcoming MSNBC and Lance Armstrong Foundation Presidential Cancer Forum on August 28 and 29th. To submit a question click here. If enough of us ask, they have to answer!

The Livestrong foundation is sponsoring presidential cancer forums next week in Iowa in an effort to make cancer research a priority for the next president.

“Lung cancer is the most lethal form of cancer for men and women in the United States. We have made great advancements in prostate and breast cancer survival rates; we must commit ourselves to making the same progress in lung cancer survival rates. By bringing people together to fight this dreaded disease, we can eliminate it,” Hagel said.

Late in session last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously reconfirmed its commitment to making lung cancer research a national public health priority.