Rx4good

Rx4good: In the area of clinical trial recruiting, talk about how advocates have made a difference. Fenton: Spreading the word among patients and caregivers about the importance of clinical trials and where to go for information has been a top priority for Lung Cancer Alliance. No doubt this is a very challenging process and overwhelming to research â€" to say the least.   We have tried to simplify and streamline the process for patients via our Clinical Trial Matching Service, a toll free 800 number staffed by medically-trained personnel who take patient profiles and research potential trial options.  The initiative began three and a half years ago, in collaboration with Emerging Med. Our service is now offered in partnership with CancerCare and Joan’s Legacy.  To date, we have fielded over 400 inquiries and have created dozens of profiles. Rx4good: Is lung cancer advocacy close to the tipping point in shifting political and public will or do you have miles to go? Fenton: While I am optimistic that we will reach a tipping point, we still have a long way to go. Consider that in 1971, when Congress and President Nixon passed the National Cancer Act, lung cancer was the leading cause of death with a 5-year survival rate of 12 percent. Today, almost 40 years later, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death and its 5-year survival rate has inched to only 15 percent. It is the leading cause of cancer death among men, women and in every ethnic group. Our military is at a 25 percent higher risk of lung cancer. Yet the disease receives the least amount of research funding and lacks a comprehensive strategy to address it. Why? Stigma coupled with fact that we have few survivors to advocate for change is why so little progress has been achieved. Make no mistake we have a lot of work to do â€" but with a grassroots movement now firmly in place, with lessons being learned from other “movementsâ€� and legislative beach heads now established, I am hopeful that we can move forward in as expeditious way as possible to reverse decades of stigma and neglect too long attached to lung cancer.