Delivering Excellence in Care Closer to Home

As we enter Lung Cancer Awareness Month, our mantra of “Lung Cancer: It’s Personal” could not have been on display better than during our recent 2020 Centers of Excellence (COE) Summit. This event brought together more than 300 healthcare providers, industry partners and patients to discuss successes, innovations and challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in communities across the country.

Our COE network is comprised of doctors, nurses, administrators and coordinators that work together as multidisciplinary teams in more than 800 medical facilities in 45 states. These network facilities have earned GO2 for Lung Cancer’s Centers of Excellence designation because of their patient-centered commitment to providing excellence across the care continuum beginning with early detection, through treatment and long-term survivorship.

The COE Summit offered insights on how lung cancer detection and care is succeeding and where it can be improved and made more accessible. Our commitment to bring excellence in care to communities nationwide includes:

Building comprehensive early detection programs to dramatically increase the number of people found with early curative disease.

• Incorporate annual lung cancer screening with other preventive services — such as vaccines, other cancer and heart health screenings – to help facilitate conversations between primary care physicians and their at-risk patients. Potentially, this could increase the national screening rate by normalizing screening with other preventive services and additional resources to further reach and educate the millions at risk.
• Identify, track and manage the high number of pulmonary nodules found ’incidentally’ outside of lung cancer screening (such as during an emergency room visit) so that if lung cancer is present, patients may have curative options. Incidental pulmonary nodule programs detect the majority of asymptomatic lung cancers.

Accelerating ‘personalized’ healthcare with multidisciplinary teams, access to clinical trials and comprehensive molecular testing that will improve patient survival.  

• Build upon and share best practices in the care continuum for finding, diagnosing, treating, and curing lung cancer at the individual level. Each patient and disease presentation is unique and understanding cancer at the genetic or molecular level is essential to determining the best treatment options. Providing personalized treatment plans with supportive nurse navigation for each patient is vital to improving outcomes.

Increasing access to excellence in care for vulnerable and underserved communities disproportionately impacted by lung cancer.

• Expand the network and share lessons learned to reduce healthcare disparities – particularly minorities and Veterans at higher risk for the disease – with 80% of cancer patients seeking their care in the community setting.
• Leverage lessons learned to advocate for innovations in our healthcare system that lowers cost, strengthens access, and increases efficiencies to reach the people who need it most.

These important insights drive our strategic priorities at GO2 for Lung Cancer and inspire us to lead and innovate in advancing personalized, comprehensive, and equitable care for all patients no matter where they are their journey. As we look to the future, we will continually adapt our programs, services and partnerships to accomplish our vision of doubling lung cancer survival by 2025.

A huge thank you to all the healthcare professionals who joined us as speakers and attendees. Their energy, excitement and commitment to transform the course of this disease could not have been more powerful. We’d like to especially thank our two keynote speakers: Roy Rosin, MBA, University of Pennsylvania Health System and Raymond Osarogiagbon, MD, FACP, Baptist Cancer Center.

And a special shout-out to our sponsors including Amgen, AstraZeneca, Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Genentech. Your support helps us convene great minds and affect meaningful change.

Whatever it takes. Whatever the need. We get it done together