LUNGevity Foundation Launches Health Equity Council

Washington, DC (March 8, 2021) — As part of its long-term commitment to ensure that all people diagnosed with lung cancer have optimal care, LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit organization, has formed the LUNGevity Health Equity Council. The group’s main objective is to make sure that all communities at risk for lung cancer have the same opportunity for best-case outcomes and treatment, irrespective of their geographic location, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age, or marginalization in society. 

LUNGevity’s Health Equity Council consists of oncology researchers, community leaders, patient advocates, pharmaceutical company representatives, and providers from high-risk areas. The members were selected for their expertise on a range of lung health topics as well as their lived experiences within their respective geographic/cultural communities.

“I couldn’t be happier to be in this group. We all have one thing in common at the end of the day—we want to make a difference in the lives of people with lung cancer,” said Robert Winn, MD, Director of VCU Massey Cancer Center. Dr. Winn, who also sits on LUNGevity’s Board of Directors and is a Health Equity Council member, added, “I believe that the platform that LUNGevity offers and what we can bring to the table will enable us to achieve real change.” 

The Health Equity Council members include:

• Sanket Agrawal, Amgen Oncology
• Francesca Angeletti, Amgen Oncology
• LeeAnn Bailey, MBBS, PhD, MS, National Cancer Institute, Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
• Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, LUNGevity Foundation
• Carla Berg, PhD, MBA, LP, George Washington Cancer Center, Milken Institute School of Public Health
• Josh Bergren, Pfizer Oncology
• Lynette Bonar, RN, MBA, FACHE, Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation
• Rickie Brawer, PhD, MPH, MCHES, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Center for Urban Health
• Romnee Clark, MD, Eli Lilly
• Narjust Duma, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
• Cherie P. Erkmen, MD, Temple University Health Systems
• Andrea Ferris, MBA, LUNGevity Foundation
• Marvella Ford, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center
• Marianne Gandee, Pfizer Oncology
• Sara Green, AstraZeneca
• Kristen Huehbner, Bristol Myers Squibb
• Patti Jewell, MPA, Pfizer Oncology
• Colette McCoy, AstraZeneca
• Devon McGoldrick, MPH, CCPH, Eli Lilly
• Ellen Miller-Sonet, MBA, JD, CancerCare
• Sarah Neils, AstraZeneca
• Raymond Osarogiagbon, MD, Baptist Cancer Center
• Kemi Osundina, PharmD, MS, Bristol Myers Squibb
• Bruce Rapkin, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Jeanne Regnante, LUNGevity Foundation
• NFN Scout, MA, PhD, National LGBT Cancer Network
• Nichelle Stigger, Lung Cancer Patient Advocate
• Jasmin Tiro, PhD, UT Southwestern Medical Center Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Karriem S. Watson, DHSC, MS, MPH, Mile Square Health Center and University of Illinois Cancer Center
• Katherine Winfree, PhD, MS, MPH, Eli Lilly
• Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
• Robert Winn, MD, VCU Massey Cancer Center

“Guided by our Health Equity Council, LUNGevity Foundation’s goal is to improve the lives and outcomes of everyone impacted by lung cancer,” explains Jeanne Regnante, the organization’s Chief Health Equity and Diversity Officer and Health Equity Council Chair. “We seek to identify and implement best practices in addressing disparities along the continuum of care for all vulnerable populations and take action with like-minded community leaders. We believe that action with impact equals change and hope.”

The Health Equity Council is part of LUNGevity’s Health Equity and Diversity Initiative, generously sponsored by the following organizations: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Novartis, and Pfizer.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is the nation’s leading lung cancer organization focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer through research, policy initiatives, education, support and engagement for patients, survivors, and caregivers. LUNGevity seeks to make an immediate impact on quality of life and survivorship for everyone touched by the disease—while promoting health equity by addressing disparities throughout the care continuum. LUNGevity works tirelessly to advance research into early detection and more effective treatments, provide information and educational tools to empower patients and their caregivers, promote impactful public policy initiatives, and amplify the patient voice through research and engagement. The organization provides an active community for patients and survivors—and those who help them live longer and better lives. 

Comprehensive resources include a medically vetted and patient-centric website, a toll-free HELPLine for support, the International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, and an easy-to-use Clinical Trial Finder, among other tools. All of these programs are to achieve our vision—a world where no one dies of lung cancer. LUNGevity Foundation is proud to be a four-star Charity Navigator organization.

Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more. 

About Lung Cancer in the U.S.

• About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
• More than 235,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year
• About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
• Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three leading cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined
• Only 21% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it’s caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically