This Lung Cancer Awareness Month, let’s talk about
While the world has a long way to go before we banish stigma or improve survivorship, change IS in the air. It’s all thanks to H.O.P.E.
Helping Others Persevere through Experience.
Meet Steve Blake
Lung Health Foundation’s 2024 Ambassador of HOPE
Stop scrolling!
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
It’s better to know, and to know early. Don’t put off a conversation with your doctor if you’re concerned. We’ll help you start the conversation.
SUPPORT IS HERE.
There’s community waiting for you at the Lung Health Foundation. We’ll help you find it.
HOPE IS CLOSER THAN EVER.
It’s possible to live with lung cancer, not just “deal with it” — and with even more innovations will come even better outcomes.
Let’s talk about SYMPTOMS
Early detection means more treatment options and better outcomes.
In Canada, about 70% of lung cancer is diagnosed “late”, at Stage III or IV.*
That’s a big problem.
One reason for this gap is that lung cancer doesn’t always come with obvious symptoms, making it tricky to spot in ourselves and our loved ones. However, this doesn’t mean that you should ignore changes in your health!
Symptoms that could mean
lung cancer
(but always warrant a check-up):
- Stubborn cough
- Coughing up blood/rust-coloured sputum
- Deep chest pain when lifting, coughing, laughing
- Frequent chest infections
- Fatigue
- Unexplained weight/appetite loss
This Lung Cancer Awareness Month, learn from the real experts - the people living with lung cancer.
Their answers may surprise you!
Meet Joey
Not everyone experiences symptoms when they have lung cancer, but Joey did.
“Seeing my daughter grow up was something that I focused on.”
Meet Lisa
Clinical trials are changing lives.
“It’s not a death sentence anymore. There’s always hope. There’s so many treatments available.”
Meet Katie
“If I could tell my newly diagnosed self one thing it would be ‘You might not believe it now, but in a few months you’ll be living the quality of life you always dreamed of.'”
Let’s talk about SUPPORT
The Loop
The Loop is a vibrant community network created by and for people touched by lung conditions. Join (free!) to connect to resources, programs, and support all in one place.
1:1 Support
Speak with a Certified Respiratory Educator who can provide psychosocial support, refer you to resources, or connect you to a peer support volunteer who’s been in your shoes.
Education
Expand your knowledge with education sessions featuring experts in a variety of specialty areas — like fitness, nutrition and finances.
Fitness for Breath
Get moving with our virtual exercise program designed for people living with lung disease. It offers a fun way to get active with a live instructor from the comfort of your home.
LHF is a no-stigma zone
Lung cancer stigma is rooted in the offensive and outdated belief that people with lung cancer “deserve it” due to their risk factors. But nobody “deserves” lung cancer.
If you are living with lung cancer, you are welcome in The Loop, our supportive community network. You belong. And we’ll never ask about your risk factors.
Let’s talk about SOLUTIONS
But there’s still work to be done.
5 things we can all do to create more lung cancer survivors
1
Embrace new treatments
Hope is on the horizon in the form of more than a dozen new drugs in queue for review from Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA). To make sure that patient voices are always a part of the plan, LHF has joined forces with Lung Cancer Canada and Canadian Cancer Survivor Network to create a single, consolidated Patient Input Survey. This allows us to create joint patient input submissions to Canada’s Drug Agency.
OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU
2
Stop the stigma
Nobody deserves lung cancer, but blame-and-shame language runs rampant in many lung cancer conversations. For some reason, everyone wants to know whether a person living with lung cancer smoked prior to their diagnosis – as if that should affect how much one cares.
OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU
Read our Lung Cancer Stigma resource, and think about how you can push back against stigmatized language!
3
Explore innovative solutions to screening
Let’s think outside the box, and maybe even outside the clinic! LHF is exploring the feasibility of filling gaps by bringing mobile lung cancer screening to Ontario.
OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU
4
Spread radon awareness
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, and the leading cause of lung cancer in Canadians who have had a limited tobacco smoking history or have never smoked. LHF is working to increase radon awareness and advocate for solutions.
5
Invest in lung cancer programming
Our work in lung cancer doesn’t end on November 30th. We urgently need your help to keep the momentum going all year long.
OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU
More survivors.
More voices.
Did you know that lung cancer death rates have decreased by 3.8% annually since 2015 – the steepest decline ever recorded in Canada?
Acknowledgements
Lung cancer is a complex topic, with hundreds of solutions just waiting to be explored. If we’re going to create more lung cancer survivors, we need to work together!
Our Lung Cancer Patient Advisory Committee
The Lung Health Foundation would like to acknowledge our Lung Cancer Patient Advisory Committee. Through their lived experiences, this committee helps guide our lung cancer programming, advocates for a brighter future, and shares their stories to help others.
- MaryAnn Bradley, Lung Cancer Survivor, Ontario
- Diane Colton, Lung Cancer Survivor, Alberta
- Kelly Graham-Miele, Lung Cancer Survivor, Manitoba
- Heather Hogan, Lung Cancer Survivor, New Brunswick
- Tim Monds, Lung Cancer Survivor, Alberta
- Joanne Montgomery-Murphy, Lung Cancer Survivor, Ontario
- Candace Skrapek, Lung Cancer Survivor, Saskatchewan
- Alan Soon, Lung Cancer Survivor, British Columbia
- Joanna Wilson, Caregiver and Advocate, Ontario
Our Lung Cancer Awareness Month Sponsors
The Lung Health Foundation would like to acknowledge the industry partners who inspire us to keep
Helping Others Persevere through Experience,
during November and beyond.
