Washington, U.S.A. — Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) has announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to move forward on CT screening for veterans at high risk for lung cancer. This was communicated to Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President & CEO in written correspondence by VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert A. Petzel.

“I am so pleased that high level engagement with senior VA officials has borne fruit,” said Fenton Ambrose, “as bringing this life saving benefit to our veterans has been one of our highest priorities.”

In 2010, the National Cancer Institute terminated one of the largest trials in its history after proving that screening those at high risk for lung cancer with CT scans could dramatically reduce lung cancer deaths.

“No one deserves to die from lung cancer – and certainly not the men and women who have served their country,” said Admiral T. Joseph Lopez (USN-retired), Chairman of the LCA Board of Directors, who personally advocated for the screening benefit.

Lopez continued, “Now that the wheels are in motion at the VA I know that they will understand the urgency and move quickly as lives are literally at stake.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Military men and women are at higher risk for lung cancer than civilians due to higher smoking rates and exposure to lung cancer causing chemicals.

“As former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, I am grateful to the Lung Cancer Alliance for raising the importance of CT screening for those veterans at risk of lung cancer and to Secretary Shinseki and Under Secretary Dr. Pretzel for this life saving step for the men and women who served our nation in uniform,” said The Honorable Anthony J. Principi, who served as Secretary from 2001 – 2005.

LCA launched in February a National Framework for Lung Screening Excellence and Continuum of Care to ensure that lung cancer screening is implemented responsibly, safely and cost effectively. To date over 150 medical centers across the country have committed to LCA’s National Framework and are screening responsibly and at low cost. The VA has indicated it will also follow established best practices to ensure risk is minimized and the benefit maximized.

In addition, LCA has long been working with a coalition of veterans service organizations, led by Vietnam Veterans of America, to make lung cancer a higher Veterans health care priority and to adapt lung cancer screening for those veterans at risk for the disease.

Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA), http://www.lungcanceralliance.org/, is committed to ending injustice and saving lives through an alliance of advocacy, education, and support. LCA provides live, real time support, referral and information services for patients, their loved ones and those at risk for lung cancer; conducts national awareness campaigns; and advocates for multiple millions in public health dollars for lung cancer research.

Image Courtesy of   photobank.kiev.ua / Shutterstock.com

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Paralyzed Veterans of America commends President Obama for stressing the important need to take care of our veterans in Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

In his speech, he said: “Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they’ve served us. That includes giving them the care and the benefits they have earned – which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our nation.”

He then highlighted the new tax credits package that was passed last fall for companies that hire veterans and also spoke about the efforts by first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to get American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. He also proposed a Veterans Jobs Corps that will help communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that “America is as strong as those who defend her.”

“Paralyzed Veterans of America applauds President Obama for the work he’s done with Congress to continually increase VA funding each year and the efforts he has made to help get our unemployed veterans back to work. We hope the increased funding for VA continues with his budget request for this year,” said Bill Lawson, national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America.

On the complex issue of tackling the problem of unemployment, Lawson welcomed the President making it one of his top priorities. “We need all leaders and all sectors — public and private — to play their part to get this economy moving for everyone and especially our unemployed veterans who have so many great skills to offer and have done so much for our country,” added Lawson.

Immediately following the release of the President’s budget request (expected to be released on February 13), Paralyzed Veterans of America, along with AMVETS, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, will release ‘The Independent Budget’, a comprehensive budget and policy document that outlines veterans’ health-care and benefits funding and policy recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Please visit www.independentbudget.org or www.pva.org for more information.

Sixty-six years ago, Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II to a grateful nation, but also to a world with few solutions to the challenges they faced. These veterans from the “Greatest Generation” made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. They created an organization, dedicated to veterans’ service, medical research, and civil rights for people with disabilities. For more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans of America and its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all veterans, their families, and people with disabilities have everything they need to thrive. (www.pva.org).

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