A grandparent, a parent, an aunt, or an uncle — almost everyone knows someone affected by lung cancer. Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer. Yet, despite its heartbreaking mortality rate, it remains one of the most underfunded and overlooked cancers in terms of awareness and research. 

If you search “lung cancer” in Vanderbilt University Medical Center news, the latest articles are published in the early 2000s, highlighting the simple lack of recent lung cancer research and awareness efforts. Vanderbilt is not the only university not funding research for this cancer — this is a widespread issue at major institutions, where lung cancer is often stigmatized and deprioritized despite its devastating impact.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. and worldwide. Many diagnoses of lung cancer occur too late for effective treatment, leading to much higher rates of mortality than that of other cancers. 

But why? Why is this cancer, which on paper seems like it should have so much funding, get none? The answer is stigma and lack of advocacy. Other cancers, such as breast cancer, have massive public campaigns — lung cancer doesn’t. The reason is that lung cancer’s strong association with smoking leads to less sympathy and therefore less campaigning and less funding for the cancer’s research. 

However, despite this lack of national or worldwide advocacy for lung cancer, there have been recent efforts by Vanderbilt students to raise awareness and push for increased research in the field. 

Vanderbilt currently has a lung cancer screening program, which is very important to the cancer’s early detection, as aforementioned. However, this program began in 2013, 12 years ago, and has only performed 3000 tests — an average of less than one test per day. The issue lies in the fact that simply having a service available isn’t always enough — efforts to publicize the services, and awareness about lung cancer is an important piece of the puzzle which Vanderbilt is missing.

Vanderbilt can set the pace in these renewed research efforts. The importance of early detection, funding, and stigmatization of lung cancer cannot be emphasized enough, and these student-led efforts should be supported by Vanderbilt. A cancer with such a high mortality rate demands a stronger fight. 

References

Mayo Clinic. (2023). Lung cancer – symptoms and causes. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lung-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20374620

Vanderbilt University Medical Center. (n.d.). Lung imaging and intervention. Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.vumc.org/radiology/lung