Benefits From Lung Cancer Organizations

I’ve been asked by friends and family members, “Why do you go every year to lung cancer summits? What do you get out of them?” What people say amazes me, but I need to remind myself that they are not living with lung cancer. They don’t know what I’m going through.

Some people don't understand how important it is for us until they have walked in our shoes. Therefore, they’ll never understand how lung cancer organizations like LUNGevity and GO2 for lung cancer have impacted people living with it.

Advantages of participating in lung cancer organizations

Lung cancer organizations like LUNGevity, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA), and Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) have many benefits for people living with lung cancer and their caregivers and children.

These organizations have phone buddies, many resources, survivors' stories, events, fundraisers, and DIY fundraisers. They invite you to get involved by donating to their organization, supporting one of their events, or becoming an advocate, and their website is full of research information.

I make sure to tell a newly diagnosed person to go to these websites and soak in all the information they have on their website. I let them know that these websites will help them tremendously and guide them through their journey with lung cancer.

Empowering and support for those with lung cancer

These organizations have helped me get through some of my darkest times, but it has paved the way for me to become the fierce advocate I am today. Without the guidance of these organizations and without the knowledge that they have taught me in their annual summits, I think of would have given up. These summits bring many people living with lung cancer and their caregivers together, and we instantly become family.

The HOPE Summit brings people living with lung cancer and their caregivers to educate us on how to manage the daily life of living with lung cancer and help us build our community support. They have speakers and key experts talking about survivorship.

GO2 for Lung Cancer Voices Summit is an annual summit that brings the lung cancer community together to educate and train us to advocate with our federal government. It’s a three days summit, and on the last day, it’s advocacy action, and we take it to the Hill to speak with our Congressman/woman and Senators.

Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA) is an organization that raises funds to support lung cancer research. But I’m honored to be on their Speaker’s Bureau, a group of lung cancer survivors and those affected by lung cancer.

We spread awareness, information, and hope. LCFA’s website has videos and podcasts that anyone can view, and it’s full of great information. Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is also another organization that raises funds for lung cancer research. They, too, have a lot of important information for people living with lung cancer and caregivers.

Stay informed and connected

Each organization has its own mission, but these organizations are loaded with important information that will benefit people living with lung cancer, their caregivers, and family members. These organizations are very beneficial in many ways, and I encourage those that haven’t to go to their website and get on their email list.

It’s good for us to stay on top of what is happening in the lung cancer community; these organizations will keep us informed. Our community here has forums to ask questions and share information, so I invite you to join our community here as well.

Is there an organization that I haven't mentioned that you would recommend? Please share in the comments below.