Looking Ahead to 2022: Events & Conferences

There are many ways to be a lung cancer advocate. One of those ways is to participate in events held by the many lung cancer organizations. I am an alumnus for a few of these events. Here is what we have to look forward to in 2022.

International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference

The International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference will be held July 15-16.

This event is held by the Lungevity Foundation. It is a virtual event and is for patients, caregivers, and advocates. By attending this conference, you will be able to effectively collaborate with your medical team and understand the science behind this disease. You will hear from researchers, medical professionals as well as survivors.

HOPE Summit

Lungevity Foundation is also holding the annual HOPE/COPE Summit from April 29 – May 1, 2022.

This event will be held in person (pending COVID numbers) at the Bethesda North Marriott in Rockville, MD. This is one of my favorite conferences because I have learned so much over the last seven years, but I have also built some of my most valuable relationships while attending this event. The HOPE Summit portion is for the patients and advocates and the COPE Summit portion is for the caregivers. I like that it is split into two sections because more information is able to be shared. Sometimes it is helpful for the caregiver to ask questions too.

Travel grants are available to first-time attendees who are a patient/survivor. There is also an option to join the Survivor Challenge where you raise $1,500 and your airfare and hotel will be covered if you have already attended the HOPE summit before.

World Conference on Lung Cancer

The next event is the 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Vienna, Austria to be held August 6-9, 2022 hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

This event is the largest international conference for researchers, clinicians, scientists, and patients in the field of lung and thoracic oncology. You can choose from meetings and sessions for all conference attendees, research abstracts, as well as sessions geared toward patient advocates and nurses. Membership to IASLC is free for patient advocates. Registration information for this event begins on January 26, 2022.

Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer

Another event being held by IASLC is the 2022 Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer meeting being held on February 22-26, 2022.

This is another virtual event where you can learn about the ongoing clinical trials for new therapies as well as preclinical and early clinical data. Registration for this event is open now and can be found here:

Lung Cancer Voices Summit

The last event that I will talk about is the Lung Cancer Voices Summit to be held on May 16-17, 2022.

This event is held by the Go2 Foundation. In previous years this event was held in Washington, DC but during COVID times, and that includes 2022, it will be held virtually. This event is for you to advocate with congressional leaders to help them understand the importance of lung cancer research and ask for better funding.

There are also many runs and marathons, as well as personal fundraising events being held this year.

Let us know in the comments what you decide to participate in this year!