On Wednesday, March 25, Enosburg resident and lung cancer survivor, George Flower, will travel to Washington, D.C., for the American Lung Association’s 11th annual LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day. He will share his story and ask lawmakers to support $51.3 billion in research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $11.6 billion in public health funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as improve access to quality, affordable healthcare coverage.
Flower is a passionate advocate of low-dose CT scans. In 2016, his physician urged him to get screened for lung cancer. Though he had quit smoking a decade before, his smoking history put him at a high risk of developing lung cancer. Flower was initially hesitant. He was recovering from a heart attack and felt that the CT scan could be done later. Ultimately, he decided to go forward with scheduling it quickly, a move that saved his life. The scan revealed a 10mm tumor, and he was diagnosed with early-stage cancer. His oncologist told him that if he had waited a few more years, the tumor might have grown and not have been removable. He underwent a lower lobectomy and has been cancer-free for 10 years.
“At first, when my doctor recommended screening, I almost said, ‘no.’ Then I thought, ‘what could it hurt?’ It turns out, it changed my life,” recalled Flower. “Thanks to my early screening I will get to meet my first great-grandchild, who will be born in July. If my cancer had gone undiagnosed, I doubt that would have happened.”
During LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day, Flower will speak with Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint and their staff to share how lung cancer screening saved his life and explain why investments in research funding, public health and access to care are important to him.
Flower added, “Lung cancer screening is easier than an x-ray, takes less than 10 minutes and it could save your life! It saved mine.”
Since 2016, thousands of LUNG FORCE Heroes from across the country have put a human face to the nation’s leading cause of cancer death and urged lawmakers to support robust, sustainable and predictable federal funding increases for lung cancer research and prevention, as well as quality and affordable healthcare. These efforts have contributed to increasing the five-year lung cancer survival rate to nearly 30%, which is a 26% increase over the last five years.
On March 25, support the LUNG FORCE Heroes by visiting LUNGFORCE.org/AdvocacyDay, and contact your senators and representative and ask them to support $51.3 billion in research funding for the NIH and $11.6 billion in public health funding for the CDC, as well as improve access to quality, affordable healthcare coverage.
For more details about the American Lung Association’s ongoing efforts to end lung cancer, visit LUNGFORCE.org.
