Over the next five years, more than 1,000,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer. Lung cancer will kill 160,000 of us this year alone. That’s three times more than any other cancer and more than the total for breast, colon, ovarian, melanoma, brain and leukemia COMBINED.
And while most of us think breast cancer is the leading killer of women, the fact is that lung cancer will kill close to 80% more women this year. And consider this one simple fact: one in five women with lung cancer never smoked.
Over the past several decades, just about every single type of cancer has made progress - reaching survival rates of 89% (breast cancer), 99% (prostate cancer), 96% (thyroid), 89% (melanoma). But lung cancer has remained stuck at 15% (all stages).
Lung cancer is an incredibly underfunded cancer. It continues to be the least funded in dollars per death of the four major cancers, averaging just over a thousand dollars per person, while breast cancer averages over $27,000 per person.
There are a number of reasons for lung cancer’s low public profile. It’s not a particularly compelling disease. Because it’s so lethal and unrelenting, lung cancer patients and their families are, understandably, more focused on survival than advocacy. Finally, given the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, there is a tendency to “blame the victim.”
There is a lot of misinformation, misperception, and stereotyping attending lung cancer. The result is that the most virulent cancer killer of all runs rampant. We need to change that.
Click on the ribbons below to see some compelling videos about lung cancer.
And while most of us think breast cancer is the leading killer of women, the fact is that lung cancer will kill close to 80% more women this year. And consider this one simple fact: one in five women with lung cancer never smoked.
Over the past several decades, just about every single type of cancer has made progress - reaching survival rates of 89% (breast cancer), 99% (prostate cancer), 96% (thyroid), 89% (melanoma). But lung cancer has remained stuck at 15% (all stages).
Lung cancer is an incredibly underfunded cancer. It continues to be the least funded in dollars per death of the four major cancers, averaging just over a thousand dollars per person, while breast cancer averages over $27,000 per person.
There are a number of reasons for lung cancer’s low public profile. It’s not a particularly compelling disease. Because it’s so lethal and unrelenting, lung cancer patients and their families are, understandably, more focused on survival than advocacy. Finally, given the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, there is a tendency to “blame the victim.”
There is a lot of misinformation, misperception, and stereotyping attending lung cancer. The result is that the most virulent cancer killer of all runs rampant. We need to change that.
Click on the ribbons below to see some compelling videos about lung cancer.