World Lung Cancer Day: The Fight for Funding and Lives

World Lung Cancer Day highlights a critical challenge: a proposed 40% reduction to the NIH budget by the United States Senate. This cut could impact 2,600 vital research grants.

The reduction poses a direct threat to cancer research, potentially halting progress.

Why are these cuts harmful?

Cancer research needs significant resources and time. Establishing laboratories, developing assays, and training scientists takes one to two years. Maintaining animal models also needs consistent investment. A funding interruption disrupts this process:

• Loss of experts: Scientists may seek other opportunities, depleting specialized knowledge.

• Irreplaceable resources lost: Without funding, essential research models are lost, hindering studies.

• Equipment rendered useless: Without maintenance, equipment becomes ineffective, hindering research.

A three-month funding lapse can cripple a lab, delaying new lung cancer treatments by over two years. The Lung Cancer Research Foundation states that "Lung cancer patients do not have this time to wait,".

Research saves lives. Advancements in breast cancer treatment, immunotherapy, and precision oncology are evidence of this. Continued funding is critical to build upon these achievements in lung cancer.

A 40% cut jeopardizes ongoing lung cancer research, risking delays in treatment development, the loss of scientific expertise, and the waste of previous investments.

Research generates data, offering potential to improve patient outcomes. This funding cut threatens to undo progress and cost lives. Continued funding for cancer research is essential to ensure a future where this disease can be overcome.

Given that lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer, we cannot afford to lose momentum in our research efforts. Nearly everyone is impacted by this disease, either directly or through a loved one. The time for action is now. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to prioritize and protect funding for lung cancer research. You can easily find their contact information and send a message through the ATS VoterVoice platform ( txting.io/YHeQWXYgV3rP).

Let's work together ‘Til No One Dies of Lung Cancer.