After losing my husband, Dan, to lung cancer in 2013, I found myself passionate about getting more involved and making a difference for others. I became a patient advocate for people with lung cancer with one of my missions to raise awareness about lung cancer screening by engaging the public, physicians, patients, patient advocacy organizations, legislators, payors and anyone else who would listen to me.
In my conversations about screening with people who smoked or had smoked, I was often surprised by their reluctance to get screened. Many cited concerns about cost, not wanting to know because it would kill them anyway, guilt for a history of smoking, and aversion to vising the doctor. I knew I needed to find a friendly and approachable way to address these barriers to lifesaving screening care.
To create a new resource, I drafted a short comic strip depicting a man and woman talking about lung screening at the kitchen table and titled it “Talking to a Loved One About Lung Cancer Screening.” I showed it to a few people who liked it, but the concept remained in my files for several years, almost forgotten.
Recently, during an American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Lung Cancer Screening Community Outreach Subcommittee meeting, we brainstormed ways to reach out to people who were eligible for lung cancer screening. It was then that I remembered my comic strip and shared it with the team. The subcommittee members agreed it would be effective at addressing patient concerns about screening, and we decided to bring the comic strip to life by transforming it into an animation. I’m pleased to share this new resource, available on YouTube:
As we recognize Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Month in November, I encourage all radiology professionals to check these materials out and recommend them to their patients to help increase the uptake of screening and save more lives.
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