NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville-based group is working to raise awareness and push for earlier detection of a disease that kills around 125,000 Americans each year.
Lung cancer is often diagnosed after it has already spread, making treatment more difficult. Advocates say increasing screenings and awareness could help catch the disease earlier — when patients have more options and better outcomes.
A Nashville-based organization is working to raise awareness and push for earlier detection that could save lives.
"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the country, with around 125,000 people dying per year. You hardly hear about lung cancer screening. It's such a huge issue and a public health crisis, and so we want to try to mitigate that," Bryson Lovorn said.
Lovern is president of Lipscomb University's chapter of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. He says one of the biggest challenges is that many patients don't learn they have lung cancer until it's already advanced.
"Most lung cancer findings are actually incidental. They end up finding cancer. Commonly they're found very late stage where it's already progressed. Our goal is to flip that narrative and get people screened in stage one," Lovorn said.
While treatments continue to improve, Lovorn says awareness and access must keep up.
"The medical progress that we're making cannot be an excuse for a lack of urgency in trying to get more legislative moves passed that are more long-term and really permanently broaden those guidelines for people," Lovorn said.
He says early detection can dramatically improve outcomes for patients.
"With so many new advancements in technology and surgical intervention and immunotherapeutics, there's such a vast array of ways that we can help patients. The problem is just getting them caught early," Lovern said.
To help spread that message, the group is hosting a community event next month in Nashville.
"We're gonna plant 1,000 flags in Centennial Park, standing in solidarity with lung cancer patients and survivors, as well as the ones who've unfortunately lost their lives to the disease," Lovorn said.
The event will be held Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon at Centennial Park, with support from Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, Pfizer, Aflac Infinity Region and Longevity.
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