Expressing support for the designation of November 2024 as “National Lung Cancer Awareness Month” and expressing support for early detection and treatment of lung cancer.

Expressing support for the designation of November 2024 as “National Lung Cancer Awareness Month” and expressing support for early detection and treatment of lung cancer.

Whereas lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among individuals in the United States, accounting for more deaths than colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined;

Whereas, in 2024, an estimated 234,580 individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and 125,070 individuals (approximately 340 individuals per day) will die from the disease;

Whereas 1 in 16 men and 1 in 17 women in the United States will develop lung cancer during their lifetimes;

Whereas the rate of lung cancer death in women in the United States has increased by 92 percent over the 50-year span from 1971 to 2021;

Whereas, each year, more women die from lung cancer than breast cancer and ovarian cancer combined;

Whereas women who never smoked are more than twice as likely to get lung cancer as men who never smoked;

Whereas, in 2024, 20,300 people will die from lung cancer unrelated to smoking, which would be the eighth-leading cause of cancer death if classified as a separate disease;

Whereas, approximately 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers occur in people who are nonsmokers, and the proportion of lung cancers diagnosed in individuals who have never smoked is increasing in the United States;

Whereas, in 2024, approximately 101,300 of the 125,070 lung cancer deaths (81 percent) will be caused by cigarette smoking directly, and secondhand smoke causes over 7,300 lung cancer deaths each year in adults who do not smoke;

Whereas the 5-year survival rate is 65 percent for those diagnosed with localized lung cancer and 9 percent for those diagnosed at a stage when the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body;

Whereas screening with low-dose computed tomography can detect lung cancer in its earliest stages and ultimately save lives, yet only 5.8 percent of individuals in the United States at high risk for lung cancer undergo lung cancer screening;

Whereas geographic availability of facilities and transportation barriers are persistent challenges to lung cancer screening;

Whereas nearly 70 percent of adults are not familiar with lung cancer screening and the low-dose computed tomography scan;

Whereas lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in veterans;

Whereas veterans are 25 percent more likely to develop lung cancer compared to the general public, and, although approximately 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 veterans have an elevated risk of lung cancer and are eligible for screening, less than 3 percent of veterans get screened;

Whereas Black men have the highest incidence of lung cancer and the highest mortality rate from lung cancer in the United States, and nonwhite individuals are 14 to 17 percent less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer early;

Whereas changes made to the United States Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening guidelines in 2021 increased the number of individuals in the United States who are recommended to receive screening from 8,000,000 to 14,500,000;

Whereas the stigma surrounding lung cancer—

(1) creates barriers to early diagnosis, treatment, and research;

(2) has a detrimental impact on the quality of life of lung cancer patients; and

(3) hinders funding into lung cancer risk factors unrelated to smoking;

Whereas lung cancer research is leading to breakthroughs in biomarker identification and the development of immunotherapies and targeted therapies that are highly effective for some cancer subtypes, yet accessing cutting edge testing as part of the lung cancer diagnostic process can be difficult; and

Whereas educational efforts can increase awareness of lung cancer and lung cancer screening among the general public, patients and their families, and health care workers, thereby increasing the early detection of lung cancer: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,