While we entered the year 2020 celebrating the largest one-year drop in cancer mortality, it wasn’t long before a new “C” entered the national conscience: COVID-19. For the lung cancer community in particular, COVID-19 presents a unique threat. Several studies have reported that patients with lung cancer who develop COVID-19 have worse outcomes, including more severe disease and higher mortality. Throughout this year, GO2 for Lung Cancer has met the combined challenge of lung cancer and COVID-19 with a few “C’s” of our own.

Collaboration

Given the potential impacts of the pandemic on our community, GO2 for Lung Cancer rapidly linked arms with our sister advocacy groups (LUNGevity Foundation, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, Lung Cancer Foundation of America, LungCAN) to issue joint statements providing consistent, up-to-date, scientific information to educate and empower patients and caregivers across the lung cancer community.

Understanding why lung cancer patients have worse outcomes to COVID-19 is critical. To help answer this question, GO2 for Lung Cancer is a proud partner on a recently-funded, multi-institution National Cancer Institute grant being led by Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

Additionally, GO2 for Lung Cancer is actively working with the international TERAVOLT consortium to help collect global data on patient perceptions about COVID-19. The TERAVOLT study is open to any patient with lung cancer.

Continuity of Care

The pandemic has affected cancer care in different ways. Initially, there were fears that patients with lung cancer may not have equal access to treatment for COVID-19. During the lockdowns earlier this year, we saw declines in lung cancer screening and clinical trial participation rates.

To help address some of these challenges and ensure continuity of care, GO2 for Lung Cancer collected real-world reports from the frontlines across our national network of Centers of Excellence. Based on this feedback, we delivered webinars on timely topics, including how to safely restore lung cancer screening. Finally, we worked to remove barriers to treatment and care by signing onto over 25 policy letters sent to Congress, the Trump administration and federal agencies.

Community

While COVID-19 may have robbed us of the ability to share a hug or be with our loved ones, it has not broken our sense of community. Indeed, GO2 for Lung Cancer has found new ways to maintain connection this year. We quickly adapted our monthly “Lung Cancer Living Room” to a “Rapid Response” format, delivering timely information from some of lung cancer’s key thought leaders on a weekly basis. The Lung Cancer Registry deployed a short survey to assess and share impacts of COVID-19 on patient care across the lung cancer community. Additionally, our 2020 events shifted to an online format, including our Virtual Voices Summit, the SummerJam 5K Your Way series, our COE Summit and our Simply the Best XV Virtual Gala. While the format may have been different, we were heartened by the participation, passion and energy that so many of you brought to each of these unique gatherings.

“Cancer” and “COVID-19” are two of the scariest “C” words around. But because of each of you – and through our shared compassion, creativity and commitment – we have risen to the challenge of 2020 and can look forward to entering 2021 filled with renewed courage.

Click here for more information on all the ways GO2 for Lung Cancer has addressed the COVID-19 pandemic.