Bethel resident and lung cancer advocate, Victoria Galanopoulos, has traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with her members of Congress during the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day on March 20. As a part of the nationwide event, Galanopoulos joins more than 90 other people across the country who have been impacted by lung cancer to ask lawmakers to support $51.3 billion in research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $11.6 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I’m looking forward to meeting with my members of congress and sharing my mom’s lung cancer story. Over the past 30 years, there have been great advancements in the early detection of lung cancer. For example, the low dose CT scan, something that was not available before my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer,” said Victoria Galanopoulos, Advocate for the American Lung Association. “It’s essential we continue to fund the CDC and NIH as they have been instrumental in developing effective lung cancer treatments and lifesaving advancements in early detection of lung cancer. I volunteer as a lung cancer advocate to honor my mom and advocate for critical funding to support lung cancer research so other families don’t have to suffer because of lung cancer.”
Galanopoulos will speak with Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan to share her mom’s experience with lung cancer and explain why investments in public health and research funding are important to her.
Thousands of LUNG FORCE Heroes from across the country have raised their voices since 2014 to urge their members of Congress to support robust, sustainable, federal funding increases for lung cancer research, prevention, as well as quality and affordable healthcare.
LUNG FORCE Heroes have succeeded in helping increase NIH lung cancer research funding by over 130% since the inception of LUNG FORCE in 2014. NIH has also funded research that has led to new treatments that are saving lives today.
Since 2016, over 50 new therapies have been approved by the FDA to treat lung cancer – giving life and hope to those impacted by this disease.
