LUNGevity Launches Groundbreaking Platform for Patient Voices

[LaurenH]

 LUNGevity Foundation has launched Patient FoRCe, the first-ever critical bridge to connect the voices of lung cancer patients — a significant population — with health care professionals, regulators, policymakers, and developers of drugs. “Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer, taking the lives of 157,000 Americans every year. LUNGevity is leading the way in changing the paradigm of cancer treatment ─ from assuming patient wishes to evidence-based conclusions about what patients value,” said LUNGevity Chairman Andrea Stern Ferris. “Through Patient FoRCe, lung cancer patient voices will be heard and heeded as policy is developed, research is conducted, and treatment decisions are made.”

Patient FoRCe, LUNGevity’s Patient-Focused Research Center, will undertake never-before studies of those living with lung cancer, collecting and sharing robust qualitative and quantitative data about lung cancer patients’ preferences and experiences to inform treatment, as well as relevant policy and research protocols.  

Patient FoRCe’s immediate focus will include continuing a study of patient preferences and experiences regarding access to care, treatment and diagnostic options, and the impact of symptoms on daily living, as well as conducting studies to facilitate patients’ access to biomarker testing, which is essential to implementing precision medicine. Patient FoRCe will also initiate a study into increasing adherence to lung cancer screening protocols for people at high risk for lung cancer.  Additional projects will be based on stakeholder input and the guidance of an external advisory board of survivors, academic and community clinicians, industry partners, patient advocacy groups, and community partners.

LUNGevity formally announced Patient FoRCe at the American Association for Cancer Research’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, on Sunday, April 2. Andrea Stern Ferris spoke to the urgency of the initiative, saying, “For too long, public policy, the practice of medicine, and drug development have not adequately integrated the viewpoint of patients. LUNGevity is determined to change that paradigm. By incorporating the patient’s voice into every step of the process – in policymaking, in trials, in treatments – we will improve outcomes for those diagnosed with lung cancer.” 

“Our goal is to uncover gaps in information, misperceptions about patient attitudes, and areas of unmet patient need,” explained Dr. Upal Basu Roy, Director of Patient FoRCe. “LUNGevity is the only organization driving this type of change for the lung cancer community, and we anticipate that our findings will shape the future of lung cancer care.”

For more information about Patient FoRCe, visit www.LUNGevity.org/patientforce.

Click here to read the full press release.