IN THE SPOTLIGHT

What Should Patients Know About Lung Cancer Surgery?

What Should Patients Know About Lung Cancer Surgery?

Surgery is a treatment option for early-stage lung cancer that involves removing all or part of a lung to treat a cancerous tumor. It is primarily an option for people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staged at I, II, or IIIA. Surgery is rarely considered for tumors at stage IIIB or IV because those lung cancers have spread to other parts of the body. It is also rarely used to treat small cell lung cancer (SCLC) because SCLC is typically diagnosed at a later stage.  Types of…

Conversations that Count: Transforming Lung Cancer Care Through Insight and Innovation

Conversations that Count: Transforming Lung Cancer Care Through Insight and Innovation

The LUNGevity Conversations that Count speaker series offers an opportunity to stay informed, engage in critical discussions, and learn from top experts revolutionizing lung cancer care for underserved populations. The series is intended for healthcare professionals, community health equity champions, and anyone interested in equitable access to healthcare. In February, we welcomed Randi Williams, PhD, MPH, of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center…

How Do We Treat Early-Stage NSCLC in 2025?

How Do We Treat Early-Stage NSCLC in 2025?

Roughly 20% of lung cancer is diagnosed as early-stage disease, and researchers have been working to improve treatment options for these patients—with significant success.  Last September, as part of LUNGevity’s International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, we hosted a session on the progress in treating early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Dr. Jarushka Naidoo of Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre in Ireland and Dr. Amy Moore of LUNGevity Foundation. In October,…

Laughs for Lungs: Rasheed Marshall Combines Comedy With Cancer

Laughs for Lungs: Rasheed Marshall Combines Comedy With Cancer

Rasheed Marshall understands the secondhand effects of cancer well. First his mom, Joycelyn, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. It came back in 2015 and eventually metastasized (spread) to her lungs. Soon after, his brother-in-law Romain was diagnosed with brain cancer. They both passed away the same week. “It was tough for the entire family when we learned mom’s cancer came back. She didn’t want to go through treatment again—which is why she didn’t tell us about it right away—so…

Staying Safe From Smoke, Pollution, and Dangerous Air Quality

Staying Safe From Smoke, Pollution, and Dangerous Air Quality

On the West Coast, wildfires are taking human lives and destroying homes. On the East Coast, the devastating results of Hurricane Helene are leading to illegal open burning of debris and trash. Thousands of miles separate these fires, but the results are the same—dangerous particles are entering the air we breathe. LUNGevity spoke with Angela Hopper, an 11-year lung cancer survivor who spent 30 years working as an air quality specialist at the North Carolina Department of Environmental…

Have You Heard About Cancer Cachexia?

Have You Heard About Cancer Cachexia?

Cachexia is a complex condition that causes severe muscle and weight loss, physical inactivity, and metabolic disruptions such as fatigue, nausea, and loss of concentration. It's estimated that 50% of individuals with lung cancer experience cachexia at some point.Learn more about cachexia and how to recognize the symptoms. 

Conversations that Count: Understanding the Complexities of Race and Health

Conversations that Count: Understanding the Complexities of Race and Health

The LUNGevity Conversations that Count speaker series offers an opportunity to stay informed, engage in critical discussions, and learn from top experts revolutionizing lung cancer care for underserved populations. The series is intended for healthcare professionals, community health equity champions, and anyone interested in equitable access to healthcare. In January, we welcomed Matthew McCurdy, MPH, co-founder and executive director of BLKHLTH, to speak on the complexities of race and…

Real-World Examples of Patient Involvement in Designing Clinical Trials

Real-World Examples of Patient Involvement in Designing Clinical Trials

Read time: 2 minutes.Here we present the final video in our three-part series about how patients and researchers can work together to develop clinical trials.  In the video below, LUNGevity again partnered with Rising Tide for Clinical Cancer Research to illustrate the power of having patients contribute to the research process. We use a real-world example to learn about patient-researcher collaborations through the POSITIVE study, a breast cancer-focused clinical trial. You can…

Developing Clinical Trials that Account for the Realities of Patient Life

Developing Clinical Trials that Account for the Realities of Patient Life

Read time: 2 minutes.  We are pleased to continue our three-part series about how patients and researchers can work together to develop clinical trials.  In this second video, LUNGevity again partnered with Rising Tide for Clinical Cancer Research to show how researchers and patient advocates can be empowered with tools to create clinical trials that resonate with patients and address the key issues they care about.  If you missed the first video, How Can Patients…

Yvonne Diaz on the hopes and concerns of cancer patients regarding the use of AI wearables – Lung Cancer Europe

Yvonne Diaz on the hopes and concerns of cancer patients regarding the use of AI wearables – Lung Cancer Europe

Our Dream Was to Start a Family, but Lung Cancer Changed Everything

Our Dream Was to Start a Family, but Lung Cancer Changed Everything

Read time: 6 minutes. After a few unimpressive encounters I experienced in real life, I tentatively returned to the Match dating app. That’s where I stumbled upon a very sweet, kind-hearted, nerdy, and compassionate man. Then I met Nate (Ha! Just joking). It was Nate. We bonded so quickly during which we identified our life goals. One goal was to have a family.  Yes, we did the whole “let’s get ready” experience. We invested in a new SUV. We were eyeing new housing…

The 5 Most Popular Lung Cancer Blogs From 2024

The 5 Most Popular Lung Cancer Blogs From 2024

Read time: 3 minutes. Throughout 2024 we published blogs sharing scientific meeting recaps, educational content, personal stories, treatment news, and so much more. Below are the most popular articles we published in 2024. If you’re looking for survivor features and personal stories, you can see all the lung cancer survivors we highlighted in 2024 right here.   2024 ASCO: Highlights of Lung Cancer Research In June, we recapped the annual American Society of…

Advancing ALK Inhibition Into Early-Stage NSCLC: Integrating Biomarker-Driven Therapies to Reduce Recurrence Risk Post Resection

Advancing ALK Inhibition Into Early-Stage NSCLC: Integrating Biomarker-Driven Therapies to Reduce Recurrence Risk Post Resection

The quest for cancer cures is personal – ALK Positive

The quest for cancer cures is personal – ALK Positive

Signs of lung cancer in non-smokers people need to know

Signs of lung cancer in non-smokers people need to know

Ensacove Approved for ALK-Positive Locally Advanced or Metastatic NSCLC

Ensacove Approved for ALK-Positive Locally Advanced or Metastatic NSCLC

FDA Approves Ensacove

FDA Approves Ensacove

FDA Approves New Drug for Advanced Lung Cancer

FDA Approves New Drug for Advanced Lung Cancer

FDA Approval of Ensartinib for ALK-Positive Locally Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

FDA Approval of Ensartinib for ALK-Positive Locally Advanced or Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

FDA approves ensartinib for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

FDA approves ensartinib for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Breathe Easy: Navigating Stress Through the Holiday Season

Breathe Easy: Navigating Stress Through the Holiday Season

Our meetup on Wednesday, December 17, featured guest speaker Daniel Huvard, LCSW, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, who provided tips on managing stress during the holiday season while living with lung cancer. In case you missed the meetup, below is a short video Daniel recorded covering practical coping strategies to help you care for your well-being during this time.

Research Milestones: Celebrating LUNGevity’s 2024 Research Awards

Research Milestones: Celebrating LUNGevity’s 2024 Research Awards

LUNGevity had a tremendous year supporting impactful research in 2024. In addition to our existing portfolio of ongoing research grants, we issued several new research awards in 2024. All of these awards are in strategic areas of research that are likely to move the dial for people living with lung cancer today and those who will be diagnosed in the future.  Below are more details about the research projects we recently announced funding for. LUNGevity Supports 10 New Research…

Celebrating 20 Years of Progress in Lung Cancer Research and Treatment

Celebrating 20 Years of Progress in Lung Cancer Research and Treatment

Read time: 5 minutes.This year marks 20 years since researchers made a key discovery that changed the face of lung cancer research and treatment. By uncovering EGFR’s role in lung cancer, researchers developed a new class of drugs—targeted therapies—designed to target specific mutations in lung cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. As we’ve welcomed this era of precision medicine, we’ve also benefited from other treatment progress in lung cancer—including the development…

Brain Mets Basics for NSCLC: What Are Brain Metastases and How Do We Treat Them?

Brain Mets Basics for NSCLC: What Are Brain Metastases and How Do We Treat Them?

Read time: 2 minutes.  Brain metastases (also called brain mets) develop when cancer from somewhere else in the body spreads to the brain.  Over time, tumors can become metastatic (travel to other parts of the body). When lung cancer travels to the brain, it requires specialized treatments that can cross the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a tight network of blood vessels and tissue that allows some substances, such as oxygen and water, into the brain while…

Medscape Onsite: Riding the Wave of NSCLC Updates From San Diego

Medscape Onsite: Riding the Wave of NSCLC Updates From San Diego

Advanced ALK-Rearranged NSCLC

Advanced ALK-Rearranged NSCLC

Screening and Early Detection of Lung Cancer: Highlights from WCLC and ESMO 2024

Screening and Early Detection of Lung Cancer: Highlights from WCLC and ESMO 2024

Lung cancer screening and early detection were major topics of discussion at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), held in San Diego from September 7-10, and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference in Barcelona from September 13-17. This fourth and final blog in our series of updates summarizes highlights from these discussions. You can read the other update blogs from these fall science meetings: Metastatic NSCLC Highlights  Small Cell Lung Cancer…

Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Highlights from WCLC and ESMO 2024

Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Highlights from WCLC and ESMO 2024

This year, the first three weeks of September were packed with lung cancer research updates at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) from September 7-10 in San Diego followed by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference from September 13-17 in Barcelona.  We wish we could have cloned ourselves and been in both places; however, we were able to attend WCLC in person and ESMO virtually. It’s impossible to condense so much lung cancer science into a single blog, so…

Eating Healthy on the Mediterranean Diet

Eating Healthy on the Mediterranean Diet

Read time: 3 minutes.  Oncology dietitian Lori Bumbaco takes us on a culinary journey, exploring why experts consistently rank the Mediterranean diet as the number one choice for healthy eating. In addition to the studied health benefits, Lori highlights the unique foods and flavors that make this diet special and provides simple, practical tips on how to incorporate them into your daily meals. In the video below, Lori offers a firsthand look at how easy and enjoyable it can be…

Oncology expert reveals the impact of biomarker testing on the outcomes of targeted therapies for cancer

Oncology expert reveals the impact of biomarker testing on the outcomes of targeted therapies for cancer