Funding for Lung versus Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the proverbial poster child for how research saves lives. Congressional appropriations to fund breast cancer research started in earnest in 1992. Breast cancer mortality started to decrease around the same time despite the fact that rates of diagnosis did not change (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpo.2015.03.002).

To us, this is 4.091 billion dollars well spent. ‘Cause No One Should Die of Breast Cancer!

Breast Cancer Research enjoys the support from foundations like the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (komen.org) and the National Breast Cancer Foundation (https://www.bcrf.org/).  Through unwavering dedication and advocacy, support for breast cancer research flourished and produced the phenomenal improvements in breast cancer mortality. These research efforts continue today.

But more people die of lung cancer than breast cancer. So why doesn’t lung cancer enjoy the same level of funding?

Short answer: no one knows.

Longer answer: its complicated. Speaking with Priya Gopalan MD, a great colleague and an amazing oncologist dedicated to treating our nations veterans’ cancers, there are likely many reasons. Sadly, many lung cancer patients don’t live long enough to become advocates for themselves. And sadly, there’s a negative stigma associated with lung cancer patients and smoking.

As if they did it to themselves. NOTE: smoking increases the risk of all cancers. We should no more blame a breast cancer patient for smoking then we should blame a lung cancer patient for smoking.

Regardless of the reason, whats needed is advocacy. So lung cancer can enjoy the same improvements as breast cancer, we need to take a page from them and lobby for an increase in funding. Its up to all of us to do this ‘Til No One Dies of Lung Cancer!