American Lung Association’s Chief Mission Officer Discusses the Importance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month  

Deborah Brown, Chief Mission Officer for the American Lung Association, joined Lung Cancers Today to discuss the importance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month and how the association is raising awareness.

“During November, which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the American Lung Association and our LUNG FORCE initiative raise awareness about lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States,” Brown explained.

This year represents an important milestone for the LUNG FORCE initiative, she said.

“LUNG FORCE unites those impacted by lung cancer and their caregivers across the country so that they stand together against lung cancer,” she said. “We really had LUNG FORCE as the first national movement to defeat lung cancer. We’re very excited to be celebrating 10 years and to be able to say that we feel we have made a great deal of progress.”

Lung Cancer Awareness Month also represents a critical opportunity to raise awareness about lung cancer screening, she said.

“We work at the American Lung Association to raise awareness during Lung Cancer Awareness Month about the importance of early detection through lung cancer screening,” Brown said. “We know that lung cancer screening really is a critical tool in detecting the disease early when it’s most treatable. If you can get lung cancer caught before it spreads to the other parts of the body, the chance of surviving five years or more increases to 64%.”

People aged 50-80 years who currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years may be eligible for screening, and the American Lung Association is conducting the Saved by the Scan campaign to increase awareness of lung cancer screening and help people determine if they are eligible for screening through a short quiz online at SavedByTheScan.org.

“If they are [eligible], we want them to go back, we want them to talk to their health care professional, and hopefully get the screening,” Brown said.