Learn More about lung cancer question builder

The Caring Ambassadors Program provides this website to help you and your loved ones
understand your disease and some of the health care options available to you.

Our three main methods to fight lung cancer are to Empower patients and providers with access to free educational materials, and resources; to Educate communities about the importance of screening and to share current information with patients and their families; and to Advocate for access to screening and treatment for lung cancer for all communities. Knowledge empowers you to ask the necessary questions to become your own best advocate. When your questions have been asked and answered, you and your health care providers will be in the best possible situation to determine the best treatment approach for you.

Learn More about lung cancer question builder

Caring Ambassadors is proud to have Lung Cancer Choices included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Patient Resources

Learn More about lung cancer question builder

Lung Cancer Choices,© 6th Edition can be a useful tool for anyone who is caring for someone with lung cancer, but its primary focus is on the patient. This book is suitable for both the newly diagnosed and those who have been living with lung cancer for some time.

MY CHOICES© is a tool to help you recognize and act upon what you can control in your health care journey to achieve optimal healing, regardless of the illness you face. It contains elements of a guide book, health planner, journal, and activity book to help orient you to and plan for the journey ahead.

Caregiver Choices© is a resource for all those who find themselves in the role of caregiver for someone who has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Weekly News Update. Caring Ambassadors Program provides 3 weekly news updates covering Lung Cancer News, Hepatitis C News, and My Choices© Update. Receive them delivered weekly to your inbox.

Weekly News Update

Lung Cancer News

Week Ending March 25, 2024

Clinical Trial of Keytruda and Lynparza Combination Fails to Meet Primary Endpoint for Treatment of Metastatic Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
“Merck revealed that its Phase III KEYLYNK-006 clinical trial, which tested a combination of Keytruda and Lynparza for the treatment of a subset of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), failed to meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).”

Banner Health’s Ion procedure as high as 95% accurate at detecting lung cancer nodules
“Banner Health’s North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley offers robotic-assisted technology to help detect biopsy lung lesions early on among at-risk patients. John Cowden, an expert in pulmonary medicine at Banner Health, directs a technologically advanced diagnostic tool for lung cancer in northern Colorado — a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy called the Ion procedure.”

Incurable but not hopeless: How hope shapes patients’ awareness of their advanced cancer prognosis
“Hope is defined as the expectation of achieving a future good. Patients with cancer, whether it is curable or not, prioritize cure as their highest hope. Patients with incurable cancer wish to be informed about their disease and its treatment, but also need to maintain hope. This inner conflict can impact how they process information about their prognosis.”

Milken researchers find widened racial disparities in pollution-related illnesses
“Researchers examined air pollution and its associated health impacts like asthma and lung cancer from 2010 to 2019 and found that disparities in air pollution-related health complications have increased in that period. Gaige Kerr, the lead author of the study, said pollution-reducing legislation like the Clean Air Act has benefitted white communities more than communities of color because the regulations don’t resolve the history of government officials disproportionately placing pollutive factories and highways in minority neighborhoods, causing the disparity between the groups to increase.”

Oxford University developing new lung cancer vaccine
“Researchers at the University of Oxford have received a grant of £1.7 million to develop a vaccine for lung cancer.”

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Care Intensity at the End of Life for Patients With Lung Cancer
“The authors concluded: “Compared with [non-Hispanic White] patients, [Asian/Pacific Islander], Black, and Hispanic patients who died with lung cancer experienced higher intensity of [end-of-life] care. Future studies should develop approaches to eliminate such racial and ethnic disparities in care delivery at the [end of life].””

Low Screening Rates for Lung Cancer Highlight Public Health Priority
“Eligibility criteria for annual lung cancer screening (LCS) among current or former smokers should be updated, with the move going a long way to reduce screening disparities, experts emphasize today in JAMA Network Open. Their comparison of outcomes following the release of screening guidance from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 2013 and updated in 2021 shows overall poor uptake of annual low-dose CT LCS, despite changes to 2 major criteria that expanded the eligibility pool: Age was lowered to 50 years from 55 to 80 years, and pack-year (PY) smoking history was reduced from 30 to 20.”

Tagrisso with the addition of chemotherapy showed favourable trend in overall survival in EGFR-mutated advanced lung cancer with further follow up in FLAURA2 Phase III trial
“Results from the FLAURA2 Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca’s ​Tagrisso (osimertinib) with the addition of chemotherapy​ provided a clinically meaningful and consistent benefit in subsequent outcomes after disease progression in patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tagrisso with the addition of chemotherapy also demonstrated a favourable trend toward overall survival (OS) improvement at two years of follow up. These results were presented today at the 2024 European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) in Prague, Czech Republic (abstract #4O).”

ChromaCode Partners With Medical College of Georgia on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Rapid PCR Testing
“The test utilizes ChromaCode’s high-definition PCR (HDPCR) technology, which involves machine learning algorithms and novel chemistries that increase the multiplexing capabilities of standard lab instruments. The panel covers all variants identified by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as clinically relevant in NSCLC with a four-hour workflow for rapid results.”

Does Vaping Cause Lung Cancer?
“Vaping exposes you to thousands of chemicals, including many that cause cancer and lung disease.”

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Updated ASCO Guidelines for Optimal Small Cell Lung Cancer Management
“In a conversation with CancerNetwork®, Gregory Peter Kalemkerian, MD, spoke about the publication of updated guidelines for managing small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with systemic therapy, which was developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in collaboration with Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario).”

My Choices© News Update

Week Ending March 25, 2024

Trees and bushes near highways improve air quality
“Anyone who’s endured rush-hour bumper-to-bumper traffic knows how unpleasant the air can get. Between fumes, dust, and all those exhaust pipes, it’s definitely not a nature lover’s paradise. But what if those trees and bushes lining our highways weren’t just there for decoration? What if they were secretly cleaning the air you breathe? Well, a new study from Georgia State University says they just might be.”

Is It Time to Address the Fiscal Reality of the Cancer Care Model and Consider Alternatives?
“This commentary begins with the poignant words of the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, who is reported to have declared: “You can observe a lot by watching.” So, we note 2 recent items in the medical world that, if interpreted correctly, should send chills down the spines of those considering the possible—and perhaps even likely— financial future of oncology care in the United States.”

‘Winners and losers’: The world of coffee is being reordered by EU laws to stop cutting of forests
“Farmer Le Van Tam tends coffee plants at a coffee farm in Dak Lak province, Vietnam on Feb. 1, 2024. New European Union rules aimed at stopping deforestation are reordering supply chains. An expert said that there are going to be “winners and losers” since these rules require companies to provide detailed evidence showing that the coffee isn’t linked to land where forests had been cleared.”

New method paves the way for clearer dietary guidelines on brain health
“In a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, researchers developed a method to retrospectively harmonize data on the association between dietary patterns and cognitive health from individual studies that vary widely in the methodologies and results.”

New research suggests intermittent fasting increases the risk of dying from heart disease. But the evidence is mixed
“Intermittent fasting has gained popularity in recent years as a dietary approach with potential health benefits. So you might have been surprised to see headlines last week suggesting the practice could increase a person’s risk of death from heart disease.”

‘Forever chemicals’ prompt new, stricter advice for eating fish from Mississippi
“Concerns about pollutants including “forever chemicals” have prompted state health officials to issue new guidelines for eating fish from a stretch of the Mississippi River between St. Paul and Wabasha.”

Ultraprocessed Foods Linked With 32 Types of Health Problems
“Ultraprocessed foods include ready-to-eat meals, snacks, and sugary drinks that contain a long list of ingredients and additives designed to make the food sellable or palatable. Now these foods have been associated with more than 30 health conditions, a review of 45 meta-analyses involving about 9.9 million participants found.”

Eating an avocado every day can add years to your life
“Scientists have discovered a fascinating connection between eating one avocado every day and an overall enhanced diet quality and healthier life. Spearheaded by Associate Professor Kristina Petersen and the esteemed retired Professor Penny Kris-Etherton from Penn State University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, this study delves into how incorporating a single avocado into one’s daily diet can lead to significant nutritional benefits.”

Chronic diseases do not reduce the benefits of exercise, finds study
“A recent study shows exercise is also beneficial and safe for older people with multiple chronic conditions or risk factors. Exercise can improve physical fitness despite chronic diseases. However, exercise should be started safely and at an intensity appropriate for your starting level.”

Spotlight On: Obesity Matters
“Priti Chawla knows the pain that can come with weight bias and discrimination all too well. Growing up in India, she was often ridiculed for her body size. “I was the chubbiest girl in my class,” she recalls. “My classmates had no filter. I was always the one who was never asked for a dance. The bias and discrimination was both implicit and explicit.”

Medicare Part D to cover cost of Wegovy when used to reduce risks of heart conditions
“Medicare Part D will pay for the antiobesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) when prescribed to cut risks of heart disease. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week issued guidance that current Medicare Part D and Medicaid coverage rules apply to the drug making headlines for its health effects including weight loss.”

Help Open People’s Eyes.

Would you be so kind as to share a snippet about your lung cancer experience with us?

There is no right way to share – talk, write, draw, speak poetry – just please SHARE. Email us: MyStory@CaringAmbassadors.org