On November 13, for the first time ever, the US House of Representatives unanimously declared lung cancer a public health priority and called for a reduction in mortality "by at least half by 2015."
Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) president and CEO Laurie Fenton-Ambrose hailed the passage of House Resolution 335 (HRes 335) as "a highly significant breakthrough, most welcome during November, Lung Cancer Awareness Month." The US Senate unanimously passed a similar resolution in August of this year.
"By its action, the House has now joined the Senate in declaring lung cancer research and mortality reduction public health priorities. This is the first time that both houses of Congress have gone on record stating that the underfunding, stigma, and neglect of lung cancer must end," she said.
Ms. Fenton-Ambrose highly praised the primary House sponsors on HRes 335—Representatives Lois Capps (D-Calif), Ed Whitfield (R-Ky), and Donna Christensen (D-VI).
"LCA and all of our stakeholders are grateful to Representatives Capps, Whitfield, and Christensen and to the 78 other members of Congress who joined as sponsors for their leadership in recognizing the need to address lung cancer with a sense of commitment and urgency," commented Ms. Fenton-Ambrose.
"LCA also salutes its advocates around the country for their dedication to making the public and their elected Representatives aware of the devastating statistics on lung cancer."
As both the House and Senate resolutions note, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women, taking more lives each year than breast, prostate, colon, kidney, melanoma, and liver cancers combined.
