LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH WITH THIRD ANNUAL REPORT CARD

[RandyW]

LUNG CANCER ALLIANCE LAUNCHES LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH WITH THIRD ANNUAL REPORT CARD ON LUNG CANCER

Washington, D.C. [November 2, 2007]--For the third year in a row, the federal government received failing grades in Lung Cancer Alliance’s (LCA) Annual 2007 Report Card, issued today to mark the start of Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

Laurie Fenton- Ambrose, President of LCA, said “Lung cancer continues to kill more men and women each year than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined because it continues to be the least funded, the most stigmatized and the only major cancer for which screening is not encouraged, even among those at high risk for the disease.”

The 2007 Report Card on Lung Cancer grades seven categories to evaluate progress each year on benchmarks that must be met in order to eradicate this disease.

The Report is widely distributed among public policy leaders, medical professionals and health care associations working to improve outcomes for lung cancer. Only slight improvements have been observed since its first release in 2005.

They include increases in the number of lung cancer clinical trials, Congressional resolutions making lung cancer a national priority, federal legislation authorizing funding for chemoprevention and pilot programs to screen those at high risk for lung cancer and several state legislative initiatives to fund lung cancer research.

However, youth continue to be addicted to cigarettes at alarming rates, overall levels of research funding remain stagnant and screening for lung cancer among a high risk population is still not endorsed despite new data showing benefits of early detection.

“Obviously,” continued Fenton, “these low grades show we still have a long way to go to reverse decades of stigma and neglect. LCA will continue its work to improve outcomes for all those affected by lung cancer.”

Click here to view the complete 2007 Report Card on Lung Cancer (.pdf).

Lung Cancer Alliance, www.lungcanceralliance.org, is the only national non profit dedicated exclusively to patient support and advocacy for those living with or at risk for lung cancer. LCA is committed to reversing decades of stigma and neglect by empowering those with or at risk for lung cancer, elevating awareness, and changing health policy.

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