Advocacy

Become an Advocate


Did you know that, in Indiana, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death? By far. That wasn’t always the case, and it doesn’t have to remain that way. From the 1930s until the 1990s, death due to lung cancer skyrocketed. In the 2000s, we saw a plateau in the number of deaths due to the tireless, relentless efforts of advocates.  

We know the formula to make lung cancer a rare cause of suffering and death. End Lung Cancer Now’s mission is to educate and empower community advocates to: 

  • Eliminate tobacco use in Indiana.
    • Tobacco products cause 80-90% of lung cancer, and more than 1 million Hoosiers still smoke daily.
    • Our goal is to support prevention efforts starting at the youth level, collaborate with existing organizations, and work with tobacco reduction programs at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (IUSCCC) to ensure smoking rates continue to decline. 
  • Screen all eligible patients with chest CT scans.
    • We know that screening CT scans significantly reduce mortality, but only 7% of eligible Hoosiers participate in a lung screening program in Indiana.
    • Our goal is to educate and engage primary care providers, integrate advocates into local programs and address statewide efforts to implement systems-based changes, and promote advocacy within the community and government. Low-dose CT screening scans should be included with other screening and prevention programs. 
  • Increase participation in lung cancer research.
    • Advances in treatment come only from clinical trials, but less than 5% of eligible patients currently participate.
    • Our goal is to educate the public about the benefits of research, increase awareness about recent advances, and dispel myths about and reduce barriers to participation, with special attention to under-represented populations. 
  • Support lung cancer survivors and their caregivers.
    • A lack of awareness and undeserved stigma contribute to ongoing challenges for survivors (i.e., a person from the time of a cancer diagnosis until the end of life). While support services exist, coordination of these services is often lacking.
    • Our goal is to create a network of survivors and caregivers to adequately support patients and caregivers, reduce existing stigmas, and promote lung cancer awareness