Lung cancer advocates from across the country—and world—gathered virtually on May 16-17th at GO2 for Lung Cancer’s annual Lung Cancer Voices Summit. Participants learned about the latest research and treatment developments from experts in the field, received professional advocacy training and met with elected leaders to tell them lung cancer was personal.

This year’s Voices Summit drew over 250 advocates from 44 states and five countries, including lung cancer survivors, caregivers and healthcare professionals. With one united voice, advocates requested more funding for lifesaving lung cancer research and a specific focus on women and lung cancer since more women without any known risk factors are increasingly diagnosed with the disease.

Here are our “top four” takeaways from this important event.

Research is transforming survivorship.

Keynote speaker Dr. Karen Kelly said that research has led to tremendous progress in decreasing lung cancer mortality. Kelly, CEO of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, talked about how comprehensive biomarker testing and combination therapies are game-changers—and are curing lung cancer in some patients.

“Biomarkers are very important,” said Kelly. She added that it’s about “giving the right drug to the right patient and not harming the patient by giving them the wrong drug.”

GO2 for Lung Cancer President and CEO Laurie Fenton Ambrose reiterated that “the journey begins with science, which is why we need to make sure we infuse as much money and energy as possible into research.”

Every patient needs access to biomarker testing.

Drs. Jorge Nieva and Sydney Barned, along with Joelle Fathi, DNP, ARNP, GO2 for Lung Cancer’s chief healthcare delivery officer, talked about barriers to access for far too many patients and people at risk of developing lung cancer.

Nieva, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California highlighted the lack of both medical facilities and primary care and advanced practice providers in many parts of the country.

Barned, an internal medicine hospitalist at Anne Arundel Medical Center and lung cancer survivor herself spoke about the need to educate medical professionals and the general public on the importance of lung cancer screening and comprehensive biomarker testing.

Fathi emphasized the need for insurers to cover the costs of telehealth visits, screening and biomarker testing. “Everything maps back up to effective policies and to putting in place the right systems and processes to make sure everyone gets good care,” she said.

We need to continue making our voices heard!

The takeaways from the first day were clear: Research is making a difference, but we need more of it and more effective policies to ensure that every patient has access to care. On the second day, advocates received expert training from our own Senior Director of Government Affairs Elridge Proctor, MPA and Lincoln Clapper, MA of Advocacy Associates. Equipped with new knowledge and tools, advocates met with their representatives to demand increased support for the lung cancer community.

Survivors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals made their voices heard and put a face to lung cancer. They asked their lawmakers to triple the budget—to $60 million in FY 2023—for the Lung Cancer Research Program within the Department of Defense administered Congressional Directed Medical Research Program. Plus, they asked Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act, which seeks to answer how and why lung cancer advances in younger women and never smokers.

Our community rocks—and we came together to celebrate our own.

We came together to celebrate our own, honoring five people for their outstanding contributions to the lung cancer community.

Rays of Hope Award

Juanita Segura, Lung Cancer Survivor and Advocate

Support Group Facilitator Award

Susan Cleveland, Patient Navigator and Advocate, Health Support Services, LLC, and Support Group Leader, Florida Precision Oncology

Raja Mudad, MD, FACP, Founding Partner and Support Group Leader, Florida Precision Oncology

Voices Summit Leadership & Advocacy Award

Bob Nicklas, Lung Cancer Survivor and Advocate

Elizabeth de Jong, Lung Cancer Survivor and Advocate

Congratulations to all our award winners!

Thank you to our sponsors AMGEN, AstraZeneca, BIO, Bristol Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, Foundation Medicine, Genentech, GRAIL, Merck, Novartis, Novocure, Regeneron, Sanofi, Takeda and Thermo Fisher for generously supporting the 2022 Lung Cancer Voices Summit.