What's new in April No Images? Click here Advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapyLUNGevity’s Senior Director of Research, Dr. Upal Basu Roy, attended this year’s American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Atlanta, GA. The AACR meeting is the largest global gathering of basic cancer researchers; this year the meeting boasted over 23,000 attendees. The presentations at this year’s meeting bought exciting updates, including on which patients respond well to immunotherapy, and new treatments for patients who progress on targeted therapies. Learn more by reading Dr. Basu Roy’s blog, which includes summaries of some of the most important news for lung cancer patients. Building communities and spreading awareness through Lunch & LearnsLUNGevity hosted its first Lunch & Learn with Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley in Washington, DC, on March 29. While LUNGevity has long hosted the National HOPE Summit (now the International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference) in the area, the Lunch & Learn is able to reach more local participants, establishing new communities of those affected by lung cancer, including patients, caregivers, and their families, as well as healthcare providers. Topics included targeted therapies in lung cancer, advances in radiation for lung cancer, an Ask the Lung Cancer Experts Q&A, a survivorship panel, and an overview of resources for patients and caregivers. Lunch & Learns are scheduled in a variety of locations throughout the year, including one in Dallas on May 11 (details further down in this newsletter). Check the Lunch & Learn web page to see what else is coming up. Inhale for Life: Biomarker Testing updateLUNGevity’s newest social media and PSA campaign, Inhale for Life: Biomarker Testing, continues to be a success! The campaign, which encourages people diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to ask their doctor about biomarker testing at time of diagnosis or recurrence, has reached half a million people with a total of 96,384 full video views, and over 1,100 people signing up to learn more. Inhale for Life: Biomarker Testing was supported in part by grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, EMD Serono, Genentech, and Foundation Medicine. Stay tuned for the next video in the Inhale for Life series, which will be on the importance of clinical trials in lung cancer treatment. LUNGevity education materials translated to reach more patientsLUNGevity’s Patient Journey Tearpad, which facilitates conversations between patients and their healthcare providers when making treatment decisions, has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean and will be distributed over various channels. This is not the first time that LUNGevity’s education materials have been translated to give non-English-speaking patients access to important, relevant information about lung cancer. Last fall, LUNGevity’s immunotherapy booklet was translated into Italian, which can be accessed here. Also, you can view a Spanish version of the Inhale for Life: Biomarker Testing PSA, encouraging newly diagnosed patients to ask their doctors about biomarker testing, here. Upcoming eventsLast chance to register for International Lung Cancer Survivorship ConferenceThe International LUNG Cancer Survivorship Conference is this weekend, April 26-28, in Washington, DC. There are opportunities to connect with other survivors, hear from world-renown researchers on the latest treatments, and learn about ways to manage your disease and your lung cancer experience. Register here by Wednesday, April 24. Join us at Dallas Lunch & LearnJoin LUNGevity and Cancer Support Community at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital for an informative Lunch & Learn on May 11 in Plano, TX! Hear from lung cancer experts and learn about local and national support programs and resources offered by LUNGevity Foundation, Cancer Support Community, and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required to reserve your spot. Learn more and register here. Dates and locations of Lunch & Learns in other areas will be available on the LUNGevity website when finalized. Run with Team LUNGevity!Team LUNGevity, our fundraising program for endurance events, is looking for runners! Sign up here to run the Chicago Half Marathon & 5K (September 29), Marine Corps Marathon (October 27), or TCS New York City Marathon (November 3). Interested in other endurance events? You can raise funds for lung cancer research and support at any race when you join Team LUNGevity! We have all the online tools you need. Thank you to all who support this important work. |