Linda Wenger
lwenger@LUNGevity.org
(973) 449-3214
WASHINGTON, DC (March 17, 2022) — LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit organization, has launched the ALK-Positive Lung Cancer Patient Gateway. This new resource joins a suite of Patient Gateways for lung cancer survivors that present relevant information tailored to their specific subtype. The ALK Patient Gateway will allow patients with lung cancer who have the ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) gene mutation to more easily locate specialists and resources as well as treatment information and to connect with a community of fellow survivors and their caregivers.
“There’s now a wealth of treatment options available for ALK-positive patients thanks to rapid advancements in science and research,” said Andrea Ferris, president and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation. “Patients, as well as their physicians and caregivers, can turn to this new Gateway as a carefully curated source of the latest information about the disease, with content that responds to their unique needs.”
The ALK Patient Gateway is a user-friendly and easily accessible information portal that offers the latest medical updates and potentially lifesaving resources for people living with ALK-positive lung cancer. The Gateway, available at alk.lungevity.org, will provide a single comprehensive place for people living with lung cancer to learn about ALK, find a specialist based on individualized search criteria, join a variety of ALK communities, explore clinical trial options, and read up-to-the-minute, curated news and trends. Visitors to the individual Gateways can view expert webinars and blogs, as well as patient and caregiver stories, and sign up for newsletters with ways to live well with lung cancer and to get the latest scientific news.
The ALK Patient Gateway joins the KRAS and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) platforms on gateway.lungevity.org. Other Gateways to come in 2022 will include a dedicated emphasis on small cell lung cancer; EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutations and fusions; and other rare mutations such as ROS1, MET, NTRK, BRAF, and RET.
The ALK Patient Gateway is supported by a generous sponsorship from Takeda Oncology.
About LUNGevity Foundation
LUNGevity Foundation is the nation's leading lung cancer organization focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer through research, education, policy initiatives, and 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 better and longer 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.
About Lung Cancer in the US
- About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
- More than 235,000 people in the US 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 in the United States than colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
- Only about 22% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it is caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically.
Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more.
About ALK
The ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) biomarker is a mutation in the ALK gene that causes cancer cells to grow. In healthy cells, ALK creates a protein that signals the cell to grow. When mutated, ALK creates too much protein, causing cells to grow out of control and become cancerous. ALK mutations are not inherited at birth; instead, they are acquired and can occur during a person’s lifespan.