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🌱May Is a Special Month at LUNGevity!
May is a powerful month of awareness and advocacy—it's Lung Cancer HOPE Month and the time of our HOPE Summit; it is also Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month as well as Women’s Health Month. Together, these observances shine a light on the importance of equity, empowerment, and progress in health care and beyond.
May Is Lung Cancer HOPE Month
In 2011, LUNGevity Foundation officially trademarked May as Lung Cancer HOPE Month—a time dedicated to uplifting and uniting the lung cancer community through stories of strength, progress, and, above all, hope. Since then, we’ve seen incredible advances: 39 new treatments have been approved, and survival rates have increased from 20% to 27%, a testament to the power of research, innovation, and patient support.
This May, we’re celebrating what gives our community hope. Throughout the month, we’ll be sharing inspiring stories on social media—and we want to hear from you.
What gives you hope? Join the movement by posting a photo or video and tagging @LUNGevity. Be sure to use #ThisIsHope to amplify your message and show the world the strength of the lung cancer community.
HOPE Summit 2025: A Memorable Weekend
HOPE Summit 2025 was held last weekend in Bethesda, MD, and we’re still feeling the love. There were moments of laughter. There were tears. And there were so many powerful reminders that no one is in this alone.
The energy was incredible! We welcomed an inspiring lineup of speakers, engaging breakout sessions, and even a little boogie at the disco party. The weekend was bursting with connection and joy and filled with the type of understanding that only comes from people who have walked similar paths.
The energy was palpable from the time the first survivors arrived until the last straggler was out the door. The smiles, the laughter and the hugs were absolutely amazing! While I felt the gratitude from our community, I am so very grateful for what they gave in return.
—Ann Fish-Steagall, RN, BSN, LUNGevity's Senior VP of Patient Services and Health Care Delivery
Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Summit so special: survivors, caregivers, speakers, moderators, volunteers, sponsors, partners, and friends. You are the heart of this community, and we’re so grateful to have shared this space with you.
To those who attended, we hope the connections you made and the stories you heard continue to bring you strength. We can’t wait to see you again soon.
And to those who couldn’t make it this year — we missed you. But good news! We recorded several of the sessions so you can tune in from home. We’ll be sharing the recordings as soon as they’re available.
Lung Cancer in Women: Why We Need to HearHer
Started by Narjust Florez, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the #HearHer lung cancer campaign aims to shed light on the delayed lung cancer diagnoses women often face. Since the kickoff last November, more than 1,300 HearHer lung pins have been distributed worldwide to women sharing their lung cancer stories on social media.
Why they're sharing their story:
- Lung cancer is the #1 cause of cancer-related deaths among women
- During patient-provider conversations, women are 32% less likely than men to be talked to about available screening measures
- Women with no tobacco use history are more likely to develop lung cancer than men with no tobacco use history
The combination of insufficient screening discussions, the general lack of awareness of lung cancer in women, and the stigma surrounding lung cancer can all result in significant diagnostic delays.
Learn more about the HearHer movement this May during Women's Health Month.
AAPI Awareness Month
In recognition of AAPI Awareness Month, LUNGevity, in collaboration with APIAHF and AAPCHO, and in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, is launching newly created lung cancer education booklets tailored for Asian American communities. Available in five languages—Chinese, English, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese—these resources are designed to promote equity in cancer education.
LUNGevity's monthly Conversations that Count series gives you a seat at the table as top experts engage in critical discussions.
On Tuesday, May 20, Jeffrey Velotta, MD, FACS, from Kaiser Permanente Northern California joins us to share his work on improving lung cancer screening uptake in Asian Americans. He will also talk about the rising incidence of lung cancer in Asian American women with no smoking history.
In case you missed it last month, Claudia M. Hardy and Angela G. Williams joined us to talk about using a community health advisors program to increase lung cancer screening. You can read a summary or watch the full presentation here.
Research Advances Drive Hope
LUNGevity has strategically invested more than $50 million into lung cancer research, including grants to improve outcomes for people living with SCLC. Learn more about our commitment to saving lives and bringing hope and progress to families facing a lung cancer diagnosis.
Progress in SCLC Research and Treatment
Approximately 15% of lung cancers are diagnosed as small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This subtype of lung cancer is known for growing aggressively and being difficult to treat. However, researchers are finally making headway in managing this disease.
Learn about the latest SCLC advances from LUNGevity’s Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, as he shares highlights from the recent Hot Topic Meeting focused on SCLC.
Carl Gay, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, also addressed progress in SCLC in the Small Cell SMASHERS Fireside Chat on April 25. He discussed the role of subtyping and translational research in small cell lung cancer. Watch the video here.
What’s All the Excitement About ADCs?
Antibody-drug conjugates (or ADCs) are a new and improved approach to targeting and killing cancer cells. This technology, which works like a “smart chemotherapy,” delivers the drug payload directly to the tumor cell while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
The best part? ADCs are being tested in clinical trials and the results have been very promising.
Last September, LUNGevity hosted a virtual education session during our International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference in which ADC expert Benjamin Levy, MD, from Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, explained what ADCs are and why they are exciting for the lung cancer community. Watch the webinar.
LUNGevity brings together world-class experts for our annual International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference (ILCSC) so patients and their families can learn from authorities on lung cancer research and treatment. Don’t miss out on the 2025 ILCSC—it’s free, virtual, and full of fantastic information. Sign up to be notified when registration opens.
Protecting Progress in Lung Cancer Research and Care
Recent federal policy changes threaten access to timely diagnoses, treatment, and ongoing care for people living with lung cancer. LUNGevity is taking swift action—amplifying the voice of the community, holding policymakers accountable, and protecting scientific progress.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to a world where no one dies of lung cancer. From funding groundbreaking research to advocating for patient-centered policies, LUNGevity is using every tool available to safeguard the future of lung cancer care.
Congress is considering major changes to Medicaid as part of broader federal budget negotiations. LUNGevity opposes these changes as they would ultimately lead to increased medical bills, lower screening rates, loss of coverage, and worse health outcomes. Read this blog to learn more about the specific changes and the effects they could have.
The LUNGevity Action Network is asking lung cancer advocates to contact their legislators to oppose these cuts, which you can easily do on the Action Network website.
LUNGevity’s Early Lung Cancer Center Hosts Annual Meeting
The Early Lung Cancer Center Multistakeholder Meeting, held April 17-18, was a dynamic workshop designed to address barriers and opportunities to ensure that lung cancer is found and treated early. Attendees included survivors, clinicians, policy experts, advocates, and industry leaders who are committed to implementing solutions that drive early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of lung cancer.
Highlights of the meeting included:
Study results analyzing a variety of screening-ineligible patient cohorts that may have a role to play in advancing clinical research, accelerating the development of blood-based risk stratification tools, and advocating for expanding screening guidelines
The emerging role of AI in predicting lung cancer
Updates from working groups focused on improving healthcare delivery solutions including incidental pulmonary nodules; ensuring patients with early-stage lung cancer have a medical oncology consult; and helping institutions establish early detection programs
Policy updates in response to the changing federal landscape
Early-stage lung cancer patient panel, who energized attendees by demonstrating what is possible for the early survivor community
This annual meeting is part of LUNGevity’s Early Lung Cancer Center comprehensive strategy to meet the moment of innovation and progress taking place in the early lung cancer space.
The Early Lung Cancer Center portfolio approach encompasses a multistakeholder coalition addressing healthcare delivery and implementation science through several working groups; the Early Lung Cancer Policy coalition; screening initiatives, both translational research and patient-focused research; regulatory work; and a patient advisory board. Each of these pillars is rooted in multistakeholder collaboration and partnership to leverage the capabilities of the entire lung cancer community to effect change and have impact. Learn more about LUNGevity’s Early Lung Cancer Center.
Team LUNGevity Braves Big Sur
Through rain, wind, and chilly coastal air, 18 unstoppable athletes powered their way along one of the world’s most scenic—and challenging—courses at the Big Sur International Marathon on April 27.
Representing Team LUNGevity, they braved the elements not just for the race, but for something far greater: to honor and remember loved ones affected by lung cancer.
Together, they raised more than $30,000 to fuel innovative lung cancer research and life-changing patient programs. Now in our fourth year at Big Sur, this incredible team brought together both seasoned alumni and passionate newcomers, all united by a shared mission: to transform lung cancer.
Want in? Join us next year or explore our full lineup of Team LUNGevity events at www.teamlungevity.org.
In Case You Missed It
LUNGevity is transforming what it means to be diagnosed and live with lung cancer. Support our mission by making a tax-deductible donation today.
