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

Kissimmee resident and lung cancer advocate, Adrina Meola, 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, Meola 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).

Meola, an operations supervisor Rx for CVS, became passionate about lung health and tobacco cessation following the passing of her mother-in-law to lung cancer. That experience empowered Meola’s husband to quit smoking. In honor of her mother-in-law, she stepped into a volunteer leadership role with the American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE Cabinet in Orlando. She inspires the community to join her in making an impact through the local LUNG FORCE Run/Walk held every May around Lung Cancer Action Week.

“The loss of my mother-in-law weighs heavy on us but also calls us to action. Lung cancer is a ruthless disease,” Meola said. “If I can play a small part in advocating for more research funds, better public education about the risk factors of lung cancer, I will.”

Meola added: “We are thankful for research that helps to identify better and more efficient treatments and are hopeful that my uncle and the hundreds of thousands of other Americans diagnosed with lung cancer can live a long, fulfilling life. While my children won’t have the opportunity to meet their grandmother, they will know her presence and help create the next tobacco-free generation.”

During Advocacy Day, Meola will speak with her U.S. senators and representative 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.

Meola encourages Floridians 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 Adrina Meola’s story and the LUNG FORCE initiative at LUNGFORCE.org.

Get involved and help the mission of the American Lung Association. The LUNG FORCE Run/Walk in Orlando is coming up on May 4. Learn more at LungForce.org/Orlando.