LUNGevity, the nation’s leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit organization, has launched a new awareness campaign to change the common perception of a lung cancer diagnosis. The campaign, Inhale For Life, utilizes video, social media, and a digital billboard in Times Square, NYC, to reach those living with lung cancer with the message that thanks to new treatment options – particularly biomarker driven therapeutics and immunotherapy, people today are living longer and better with the disease.
Inhale for Life uses breathing to represent the connection between all of us – lung cancer patients and non-patients alike. Close-ups of a wide variety of healthy-looking people are shown inhaling; some are then revealed to be lung cancer survivors. The campaign upends the ominous vision of lung cancer patients portrayed for decades in ads.
Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, with more than 1.8 million new cases diagnosed each year. 1 in 16 Americans will have a lung cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Nearly 65% of new diagnoses are nonsmokers, most often found late when the disease is stage 3 or 4 and more difficult to treat. Just a few years ago, late-stage patients had few treatment options. Today, due to accelerated advancements in research, this is changing, and many late-stage patients are living longer and better lives.
“Many people don’t know that real advances have been made in treating lung cancer,” said Andrea Ferris, President of LUNGevity Foundation. “Our goal with Inhale For Life is to reach those affected by lung cancer with the message that they should seek out options and never give up hope. We look forward to the day when lung cancer is treated as a chronic illness.”
Inhale for Life was launched through social media to coincide with Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November, supported in part by grants from Genentech and AstraZeneca. In its first three weeks alone, the video has been viewed by over 120,000 people, with hundreds signing up to learn more. A ten-second version of the public service announcement is now appearing before holiday crowds on a digital billboard in Times Square, made possible through a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
About Lung Cancer:
- 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
- More than 224,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year
- 60 – 65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
- Lung cancer kills more people than the next three cancers (colorectal, breast, and pancreatic) combined
- Only 18% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically
