AstraZeneca Announced as 2019 “Simply the Best Award” Honoree

SAN CARLOS, Calif. and WASHINGTON DC, November 12, 2019 – GO2 for Lung Cancer (a merger of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and Lung Cancer Alliance) recognized AstraZeneca on November 9 at its 14th annual “Simply the Best” Dinner. AstraZeneca was honored with the “Simply the Best Award” for its continued dedication to research and development of new lung cancer treatments.

GO2 for Lung Cancer’s annual event is a celebration of survivors, hope and determination that brings together lung cancer patients and their families to recognize top minds in the lung cancer field. The gala was held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

Kevin Lokay, Franchise Head Lung Cancer EGFR

“Lung cancer treatment has evolved tremendously over the past decade with so many new options available to patients,” said Chatrick Paul, head of US Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca. “We are thankful for the work that the GO2 for Lung Cancer is spearheading to accelerate collaboration across the oncology ecosystem and to ensure patients are able to navigate a difficult diagnosis. By educating and empowering patients to participate in making informed and thoughtful treatment choices based on comprehensive testing, patients can get the most effective treatments for their disease.”

While the understanding of lung cancer continues to grow, so do the number of people diagnosed with the disease. Each year, nearly 225,000 Americans receive a lung cancer diagnosis and more than 160,000 will die of the disease. Eighty percent of those recently diagnosed never smoked, or quit more than a decade ago.

Go2 Foundation also recognized the following honorees at the Gala:

Jonathan Riess, M.D., M.S., Associate Professor, UC Davis Health System

  • Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Professor of Pharmacology; Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital; Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research, Yale Cancer Center will receive the Asclepios Award, which honors research pioneers in the fight to end lung cancer.
  • Jonathan Riess, M.D., M.S., Associate Professor at UC Davis Health System is the recipient of the A Breath Away from the Cure Award, which honors individuals for excellence in oncology, early detection and coordinated treatment.
  • Don Stranathan and Timothy Edward Gonsalves, survivors and each other’s caregivers, will be honored with the Wind Beneath My Wings Award, which celebrates the caring, compassionate people who go above the call of duty to care for a loved one facing lung cancer.

“When we held our first gala 14 years ago, our hopes of turning lung cancer into a chronic, manageable disease seemed like a

Timothy Edward Gonsalves and Don Stranathan, survivors and each other’s caregivers and Andrea Parks, Chief Development Officer, GO2 for Lung Cancer

far-distant dream,” said Bonnie J. Addario, lung cancer survivor, co-founder and chair of GO2 for Lung Cancer. “But thanks to the many pioneers in research and discovery, we are moving closer and closer each day. It’s an exciting time for lung cancer research and we’re thankful to the many who support our efforts to advance research and patient care.”

The Simply the Best Dinner and Gala is GO2 for Lung Cancer’s largest annual fundraising event.  More information about the 14th annual Simply the Best Dinner and Gala is available here.

About GO2 for Lung Cancer

Founded by patients and survivors, GO2 for Lung Cancer (formerly the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and Lung Cancer Alliance), transforms survivorship as the world’s leading organization dedicated to saving, extending, and improving the lives of those vulnerable, at risk, and diagnosed with lung cancer. We work to change the reality of living with lung cancer by ending stigma, increasing public and private research funding, and ensuring access to care.