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

Attleboro resident and lung cancer advocate, Anthea Gomes, 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, Gomes 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).

For many years, the Gomes family has experienced a range of lung illnesses including asthma, COPD, and lung cancer. 30 years ago, Gomes lost her grandmother to lung cancer, and today, her mother is fighting her own lung cancer diagnosis. Anthea herself has chronic asthma which, on occasion, impacts her ability to do simple everyday tasks. The family’s history with lung cancer and lung diseases has raised a number of questions about whether they might be genetically predisposed to developing lung cancer. 

Gomes said, “So much is not yet known in the field of lung cancer research and respiratory illness.  By funding incredibly groundbreaking research through the NIH, I hope that someday families like mine will have a better understanding of where we stand with this disease and improve our chances of living long healthy lives. I also hope that by investing in the public health efforts of the CDC, families like mine will have more partners and resources to lean on in their fight against cancer.”

During Advocacy Day, Gomes will visit the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ed Markey, and Representative Jake Auchincloss to share her personal experience with lung cancer and explain why investments in public health and research funding are critical.  

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.

Gomes encourages others in Massachusetts to advocate for lung cancer research and healthcare protections by contacting their members of Congress, which they can do at Lung.org/AdvocacyDay. All are also welcome to join Anthea and our other LUNG FORCE heroes in the LUNG FORCE Walk Boston this October 19th at DCR Hopkins State Park to raise funds and awareness for lung cancer.

Learn more about Anthea Gomes’s story and the LUNG FORCE initiative at LUNGFORCE.org.