Funding A Future Without Lung Cancer
The 5 year survival rate for lung cancer has improved each year. It is currently 27% compared to 12% in the 70’s. However, it kills more people per year than colon, breast, and prostate combined. In fact, it kills more than THREE times as many individuals per year than breast cancer. There has been a negative stigma with the disease because of its relationship to smoking. However, sixty-five percent of the new cases of lung cancer are among nonsmokers and former smokers. The good news is, there are several new, effective targeted treatments with low toxicities on the horizon. Unfortunately, the funding for lung cancer has been insufficient to support the much needed research and discoveries.
Lung cancer is underfunded compared to the number of deaths it causes. Lung cancer gets about 9% of federal cancer grant money whereas breast cancer gets 20%. So funding per cancer death is 15% or about 1/6th that of breast cancer. The need is simple: more funding. The funding will support research for early detection and newer targeted treatments.