A number of lung cancer patient advocacy organizations are teaming up on an initiative to encourage patients with lung cancer to take charge of their diagnosis and learn about clinical trials. The Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Call to Action < link tk > campaign matches lung cancer patients with currently recruiting clinical trials based on each patient’s individual situation.

“The Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Call to Action campaign provides valuable information to help patients and physicians have a dialogue about all available treatment options," said Laurie Ambrose, president and chief executive officer of the Lung Cancer Alliance.

Partners of the Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Call to Action include the following:

The new campaign is designed to ease the burden patients and their families may feel when trying to navigate the landscape of researching and identifying clinical trials to discuss with their physicians. Patients can access the program’s Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Matching Service, which provides personalized education and identification of clinical trial options that match, by visiting any of the partner organization Web sites.

"As a physician, my goal is to make sure that my patients get the right treatment as soon as possible, and clinical trials are one important way to accomplish that," said Joan Schiller, MD, president of the National Lung Cancer Partnership. "More broadly, participation in clinical trials is crucial to the fight against lung cancer, both now and for future generations.”