By GO2 Senior Director, Support Initiatives, Maureen Rigney, LICSW  Win Boerckel receiving GO2’s inaugural Lung Cancer Support Group Facilitator Award in 2009 Treasured GO2 friend and staunch lung cancer advocate, Winfield Boerckel, died in May following a diagnosis of brain cancer. Some of you may have had the pleasure of meeting or working with Win over the years.   A social worker at CancerCare since 1996, Win ran a lung cancer support group on Long Island from 1997 until his retirement at the end of 2022. He was frequently called upon to share the perspectives of the lung canc ..read more

We are excited to announce that our 2023 Volunteer Leadership & Advocacy Award winner is Heidi Nafman-Onda! This award honors a member of the lung cancer community for their outstanding leadership in volunteerism and advocacy and is awarded annually at GO2’s Lung Cancer Voices Summit.   Heidi was a fitness trainer and lifelong health enthusiast who was diagnosed with stage 3A non-small cell lung cancer incidentally and without symptoms in 2018. In the fall of 2020, Heidi asked her husband, Pierre, to make a white ribbon out of plywood to hang on the front door of their home to help ..read more

By lung cancer advocate and experienced world traveler, Elizabeth de Jong Question: I will be traveling this summer for the first time since being diagnosed with lung cancer last year. What should I consider to make travel safe, easy and fun, given my new diagnosis?   Answer: My husband and I collect experiences the way that others collect antiques or action figures. So, when I was diagnosed with lung cancer in September of 2016, our goal was to get my health back to a place where we could enjoy more travels and adventures. Since then, through careful planning, deal searching and us ..read more

Treatment for lung cancer has advanced considerably over the years and has been accelerating at an even faster rate this past decade. People diagnosed with lung cancer today have newer, more personalized treatment options that may include targeted therapies, immunotherapies, combination therapies and more traditional chemotherapies or radiation. The development of new treatments is ongoing, and the next wave of precision medicine offers even more hope for people living with lung cancer.   In April’s Lung Cancer Living Room – our first broadcast with a live audience in over three years ..read more

Question: “I have heard people being treated for lung cancer talk about being ‘NED.’ What exactly does this mean? Is it the same thing as being cured?”  Answer: NED stands for “no evidence of disease” and is a term that is like “remission.” NED means that there is no cancer currently detectable in your body based on scans or other tests, but that there might still be cancer cells present at a level that can’t be detected. People who are living with lung cancer often celebrate their NED status because it shows that their treatment is working well.   NED is not the same as being ..read more

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in the United States, taking 171 women’s lives every day. That’s more than breast, ovarian and cervical cancer combined. It affects women of all ages – our grandmothers, aunts, daughters, friends and mothers – so this Mother’s Day we honor all women who have been touched by the disease.    Caroline Blanchard was just 30 years old and pregnant with her second child when she found out she had the EGFR T790M pathogenic germline mutation that can cause lung cancer. After her maternal aunt passed away from lung cancer at ..read more

Question: “I was screened for lung cancer and my scan revealed ground glass nodules in my lungs. What are these and should I be concerned?” Answer: Nodules are abnormal yet common spots that may show up on your lung cancer screening scan or other imaging tests. Some nodules may be cancerous and some may be benign.   Evaluating Nodules  When your healthcare team is evaluating your nodule(s), they are looking at its margins, density, size and consistency. When the nodule is solid, it is called a “solid nodule.”  If it is hazy with no solid parts, it is called a “non-solid n ..read more

GO2’s Senior Manager of Support Services, Miranda Goff; award recipients Michelle Hills and Sarah Bechard; GO2’s Senior Director of Support Initiatives, Maureen Rigney We are excited to announce our 2023 Lung Cancer Support Group Facilitator awardees are Sarah Bechard and Michelle Hills. Awarded annually since 2009, this award recognizes the uncommon dedication of support group facilitators.   Michelle Hills is a social worker who was diagnosed with lung cancer and is treated at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. She approached Sarah Bechard, a social worker at the center, a ..read more

Author: Terri Ann DiJulio, lung cancer survivor, CDMRP reviewer, GO2 Summit Planning Committee & NAC Member I am a lung cancer survivor …  I am also an outspoken advocate in the lung cancer community.   Because of this, many of you may already know that I have been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer three separate times over a 17-year period.  What is the first question many people want to ask when learning someone has lung cancer?   Come on, ask me … I know what it is.   Let’s take a minute and talk about the elephant in the room. Let me be can ..read more

GO2 for Lung Cancer’s Voices Summit is the only annual meeting that brings the lung cancer community together for education, training, connection and advocacy action with our federal government, the largest funder of cancer research.  Nearly one hundred advocates from over half of the country gathered in Washington, DC for this year’s Summit. Over the course of three days, participants learned about the latest research and treatment developments from lung cancer experts, received professional advocacy training, shared their personal lung cancer stories and asked for support from their e ..read more