Lung Cancer Alliance-Georgia Issues Inaugural State-Specific Report Card On Lung Cancer

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Article Date: 02 Nov 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Today, Lung Cancer Alliance-Georgia (LCA-GA) issued its first-ever state-specific Report Card on Lung Cancer, an assessment of progress being made against this lethal disease in the state of Georgia. LCA-GA is a chapter of Lung Cancer Alliance, the only national organization solely dedicated to patient support and advocacy for people living with or at risk for lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths nationally, as well as among Georgian men and women, resulting in 30 percent of all cancer deaths in the state. This year alone, 6,260 Georgians will be diagnosed and 4,970 will die from the disease.

"This is historic and long overdue," said Ed Levitt, State Chairman of LCA-GA and a lung cancer survivor. "We now have the benchmarks in place to measure progress in reducing the high mortality of lung cancer in the state of Georgia."

Said Laurie Fenton, President of Lung Cancer Alliance, "Georgia has been the leader across the board in organizing the state movement. They have an amazing team and the right strategy to get the job done. This Report Card will be an important tool for their efforts."

The LCA-GA Report Card on Lung Cancer grades six categories to annually evaluate progress utilizing key benchmarks in the battle to eradicate this disease. Its purpose is to alert Georgian public health leaders and state residents to the dismal state of lung cancer.

"As a thoracic oncologist specializing in lung cancer here in Georgia, I have witnessed first hand the devastation caused by this disease," says Dr. Michael Smith, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Atlanta Medical Center and one of the founding members of LCA-GA. "Nothing will change until the public is aware of the state of lung cancer in Georgia. This Report Card is our vehicle for change."

The LCA-GA Report Card on Lung Cancer grades the following six categories:

-- Number of Deaths -- GRADE: F Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death among Georgian men and women. This year alone, 6,260 Georgians will be diagnosed and 4,970 will die from the disease.

-- Five-Year Survival Rate -- GRADE: F Lung cancer is the only major cancer with virtually no improvement in survival for nearly 40 years, and a 5-year survival rate that has hovered at 15%.

-- State-Supported Research -- GRADE: F Lung cancer is under-funded and under-researched relative to its Georgia public health impact. Georgia's public share of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) is just under $5 billion over 25 years.

-- Newly-Addicted Youth Smokers -- GRADE: F 15,600 new Georgian "daily" smokers under age 18 become addicted each year.

-- State-Supported Early Detection Program -- GRADE: F Neither the state of Georgia, nor the federal government, supports or funds the early detection of lung cancer.

-- State Cancer Plan Commitment -- GRADE: F The Georgia Cancer Plan lacks commitment to lung cancer.

"This makes it clear," concluded Levitt. "It is time to make a change. We are here. We are watching. We are not going away."

Despite failing grades in the state of Georgia, there have been national breakthroughs in 2006 that will benefit the lung cancer community. A landmark study was released showing the benefits of early detection, Avastin(R) (bevacizumab) was approved for the treatment of lung cancer, and Congress declared lung cancer a national public health priority.

For more information on the services provided by the Lung Cancer Alliance or to view the complete LCA-GA Report Card on Lung Cancer, visit http://www.lungcanceralliance.org.

The Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit organization solely dedicated to patient support and advocacy for people living with, or at risk for, lung cancer. As the number one cancer killer, lung cancer will kill more than 160,000 Americans this year alone, causing more deaths than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney cancers and melanoma combined.

Lung Cancer Alliance-Georgia
http://www.lungcanceralliance.org

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