LCA Congratulates Nominee For Surgeon General

URGES LEADERSHIP ON LUNG CANCER

WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Lung Cancer Alliance
praised President Obama's nomination of Dr. Regina Benjamin as U.S. Surgeon
General and urged the family physician from Alabama, whose mother died of lung
cancer, to change public awareness and public policy on the disease.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081016/LCALOGO )

The Surgeon General of the United States serves as the nation's chief health
educator by providing the best scientific information on diseases and how to
improve health.

In a letter to Dr. Benjamin, LCA President Laurie Fenton-Ambrose said, "To
have a family physician in this important position, and one who has devoted
her life to making a difference for the under-served sends a message of hope
that we can and will do better."

That message is particularly needed for those hundreds of thousands of
families touched by lung cancer.

"Your family has suffered - so many families have suffered - from the
devastation of this disease," she said.

Only heart disease causes more deaths each year, yet the public is not aware
of the statistics or of the underfunding of research into the disease.

Citing the President's frequently expressed empathy for those who started
smoking at a young age, Fenton-Ambrose said: "We are hopeful that the
President's understanding and sympathetic approach and your own tragic
experience with lung cancer will signal an end to the decades of stigma, blame
and neglect that has allowed lung cancer to become the most lethal yet least
funded of the four top cancer killers.

"Progress cannot be made until the public understands the impact of lung
cancer and we commit to addressing lung cancer as a disease comprehensively.
This is an epidemic that requires more research funding and a coordinated plan
of attack, encompassing all areas: prevention, early detection, intervention
and treatment.

"We wish you success and a speedy confirmation, and we commit to working with
you so that under your leadership we can and will make progress in reducing
lung cancer's lethality," she concluded.Lung Cancer Alliance
(www.LungCancerAlliance.org) is the only national non-profit organization
dedicated exclusively to patient support and advocacy for those living with or
at risk for lung cancer. Lung Cancer Alliance is committed to leading the
movement to reverse decades of stigma and neglect by empowering those with or
at risk for the disease, elevating awareness and changing health policy.
Media Contact:
Will Furtado
wfurtado@lungcanceralliance.org
202-463-2080

SOURCE Lung Cancer Alliance

Will Furtado of Lung Cancer Alliance, +1-202-463-2080,
wfurtado@lungcanceralliance.org