PolmoniAMO_INGL

21 PolmoniAMO breast cancer patient associations have made a real difference. From advocacy move- ments for the rights of women with breast cancer (e.g. Europa Donna Italia) to aware- ness-raising campaigns (e.g. the American #beBRCAware campaign) not to mention multiple crowd-funding projects (Komen Race for the Cure), women have shown that they are better than men at raising awareness of their condition, with major positive repercussions on the availability of funds for scientific research. Patient advocacy activi- ties in the USA (e.g. Lung Force, Lung Action Network) have led to a substantial increase in funding from the National Institute of Health for lung cancer research (from USD 331 million in 2016 to USD 447 million in 2020). In our country, funding for lung cancer re- search is far lower: we need only consider the €1 million earmarked by the amendment to the Sostegni bis decree to finance lung screening or the €450,000 set aside for the PEOPLHE project to develop a model for the early diagnosis of lung cancer. These data should motivate us to do more and to involve patients by encouraging them, on the one hand, to come out of the shadows to which they have consigned them- selves in order to take advantage of their right to treatment and, on the other hand, to raise awareness of the importance of beating cancer early through screening . It is therefore necessary to establish a virtuous circle in which the image of the patient who can fight the disease openly is a source of inspiration and also encour- ages partners outside the clinical-academic world, such as the large-scale retail sector, organisations offering supplementary healthcare funds (e.g. Poste Italiane) or banks, to get involved in campaigns to raise public awareness of the importance of screening. Epidemiological analyses have given us a new insight into lung cancer: it is no longer just a disease for elderly men. More attention needs to be paid to women for whom mor- tality has increased in recent years (+5% compared to 2015). The finding that nodules grow at a slower rate in women than in men could make screening even more effective for women [49]. Upcoming screening awareness-raising campaigns could see women acting as driving forces in educating the public on the importance of early diagnosis as a means of treating the disease better and earlier. In this regard, it would be beneficial to raise women’s awareness of breast screening, combining it with lung screening in the case of heavy smokers. • Raising awareness of the benefits of cancer screening and prevention Screening is one of the most valuable public health resources and is crucial in oncology where changing the natural course of the disease means detecting it at its earliest stage. This is even more applicable to lung cancer patients, who are often diagnosed when symptoms appear and when the disease is therefore at an advanced stage and the chances of recovery are lower. Thanks to screening, it is now possible to detect very small tumours, which can be treated with minimally invasive, robotic and customised surgery. This saves most of the healthy lung with less extensive resections to ensure that the patient has a rapid functional recovery and early discharge.