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Massachusetts |
Lung Cancer Alliance-Massachusetts's Commitment to Improving Failing Grades
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Number of Deaths |
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F |
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Unacceptable. Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths among Massachusetts men and women. This year alone, 5,060 Massachusetts citizens will be diagnosed—3,630 will die from the disease. |
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Five-Year-Survival-Rate |
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F |
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No progress in decades. For nearly 40 years, there has been virtually no improvement in lung cancer’s 15% five year survival rate. Conversely, breast cancer’s 5-year survival rate has increased to 88% and prostate cancer’s to 99%. |
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Number of Late-Stage Diagnoses |
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F |
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Must improve. Over 70% of lung cancer patients are diagnosed in the late stages of the disease when it is not curable, most succumbing to the disease within the first year of diagnosis. We must shift to earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment if we hope to improve overall survival. |
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Newly-Addicted Youth Smokers |
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F |
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Shameful. 7,400 new Massachusetts “daily” smokers under the age of 18 are addicted each year. Over 14 million packs of cigarettes are bought or smoked by Massachusetts youth each year. Over 20% of Massachusetts high school students smoke cigarettes. Big Tobacco’s relentless multi-billion dollar campaigns to hook more young people continue. |
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State-Supported Research |
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F |
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Missed Opportunity. Lung cancer research is woefully under funded relative to its Massachusetts’ health impact. Massachusetts has failed to adequately fund research in prevention, early disease management and treatment for lung cancer. This must change. |
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State Cancer Plan Commitment |
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D |
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Promising but Needs Improvement. The goal of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition’s plan is to reduce and eliminate death and suffering due to cancer by 2011. While the plan recommends smoking cessation programs, it fails to recommend research for lung cancer early detection and treatment. All three critical components must be included if lung cancer mortality is to be reduced. |
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