The Heroes in the Battle Against Lung Cancer

Each year, the Cancer Community (C2) Awards celebrates community members and hometown organizations that are making a difference with cancer care at the local level.

We heard from two of the award winners, Barbara Gitlitz and Geoffrey Oxnard, oncologists participating in the research of genomics of young lung cancer study (GoYLC). Their work is helping people deal with the biggest cancer killer in America, lung cancer. Gitlitz studied a rare population of lung cancer. She and her team discovered that over 80% of the studied population had a genetic signature that points to a targeted therapy, which confirms all patients with non-small cell lung cancer need genetic testing.

Geoffrey R. Oxnard, 2019 C2 Award Winner

Oxnard and his team created a web-based program where anyone in the world under the age of 40 with lung cancer, can share their story and engage with others dealing with similar struggles. In result, 130 patients under the age of 40 with lung cancer, came to the website to share their stories creating a sense of community where they can feel less alone in their fight against cancer.