Caroll County Lung Cancer Advocate Travels to Washington, D.C. to Urge Lawmakers to Support Lifesaving Research and Public Health Funding

Sykesville resident and lung cancer advocate Rebecca Davieau, will travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with her members of Congress during the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day on March 20. As a part of the nationwide event, Rebecca will join more than 40 other people across the country who have been impacted by lung cancer to ask lawmakers to support $51.3 billion in research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $11.6 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rebecca’s father Constantine was born in 1925, coming of age in the 1930s and 1940s when tobacco companies starting paying the biggest movie stars to appear in cigarette commercials smoke onscreen. He was a soldier in World War and provided a pack of cigarettes and waterproof matches as part of his rations. He smoked filter less cigarettes for many decades, struggling to quit smoking for years and old succeeding late in life. He celebrated his 80th birthday at a pool party, then was diagnosed with lung cancer a week later, and passed five weeks after that birthday party.

In honor of her father, Rebecca is sharing his story in hopes that it can influence funding of prevention, screening and treatment support to ensure other people don’t lose their life to lung cancer. “My father’s lung cancer story is about strong societal encouragement to smoke coupled with not seeking and getting timely intervention. My father was a very private man who loved children. I think he would approve me sharing his story if it influenced better outcomes for all people, but especially the children. So those children can live a world where tobacco use is a fading memory and lung cancer is rare, caught early with effective screenings and treatable.” said Rebecca.

During Advocacy Day, Rebecca will speak with the offices of Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van HollenCongressman Dutch Ruppersberger to share her personal experience with lung cancer and explain why investments in public health and research funding are important to her.

Thousands of LUNG FORCE Heroes from across the country have raised their voices since 2014 to urge their members of Congress in Washington, D.C., to support robust, sustainable and predictable federal funding increases for lung cancer research, prevention, as well as quality and affordable healthcare. LUNG FORCE Heroes have succeeded in helping increase NIH lung cancer research funding by over 130% since the inception of LUNG FORCE in 2014. NIH has also funded research that has led to new treatments that are saving lives today. Since 2016, over 50 new therapies have been approved by the FDA to treat lung cancer – giving life and hope to those impacted by this disease.

Rebecca encourages others in Maryland and across the nation to advocate for lung cancer research and healthcare protections by contacting their members of Congress, which they can do at Lung.org/AdvocacyDay. Learn more about Rebecca Davieau’s story and the LUNG FORCE initiative at LUNGFORCE.org.