“It’s time to get rid of the stigma around lung cancer – it has no place here. No one deserves lung cancer. The statistics are frightening, and the level of funding is disgustingly low. But times are changing.” – Mel McLaughlin, 7NEWS Sports Anchor.
Each hour an Australian family loses a loved one to lung cancer. This is all too real for Mel McLaughlin who tragically lost her big sister, Tara in 2015. It’s a disease that takes the lives of more people than breast and ovarian cancers combined.
Yet, at the same time, more than a third (35%) of Australians believe those living with lung cancer only have themselves to blame. Stigma towards lung cancer is a barrier that blocks investment into research, treatment, and support. In fact, lung cancer receives little government investment for research into diagnosis and treatment options.