Today, Lung Cancer Alliance-New York (LCA-NY) issued its 1st Report Card on Lung Cancer. This Report is an assessment of progress being made against lung cancer in the state of New York. LCA-NY is a chapter of Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA), the only national organization dedicated exclusively 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 both nationally and in New York. This year alone, 13,550 New Yorkers will be diagnosed and 8,780 will die from the disease -- more than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined.
"Despite these alarming statistics, the New York legislature and Department of Health have not put together a comprehensive, coordinated plan to address lung cancer," said Phyllis Goldstein, LCA-NY Chair. "State funding for lung cancer prevention, early detection, better treatments and research must increase if we are going to see a reduction in mortality rates in New York."
"LCA-NY has laid out their commitments to reversing the decades of stigma and neglect associated with lung cancer," said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President and CEO. "They have a team in place willing to work with other organizations who share their common goals laid out in their 2009 Report Card on Lung Cancer."
The LCA-NY 2009 Report Card on Lung Cancer uses six categories to annually grade progress in key benchmarks areas in order to alert New York public health and public policy leaders and state residents to what needs to be done to address lung cancer appropriately.
Over the past four decades, significant funding for research and early detection has greatly increased five year survival rates for breast cancer (88 percent), prostate cancer (99 percent) and colon cancer (65 percent).
Under-funded and ignored, the lung cancer five year survival rate is still only 15 percent.
The LCA-NY 2009 Report Card on Lung Cancer grades the following six categories: