On September 22, 2020 CURE Media Group, the industry-leading multimedia platform devoted to cancer updates and research that reaches more than 1 million patients, reported the four winners of the inaugural 2020 Lung Cancer Heroes awards and the winner of the Lifetime Achievement award (Press release, CURE Media Group, SEP 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234565497]).

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"Each of these esteemed individuals has contributed to improving the lives of lung cancer patients," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences, parent company of CURE Media Group. "We are so grateful to work with supporters such as Takeda and our advocacy groups to bring together the lung cancer community and celebrate these remarkable heroes for their amazing efforts."

The inaugural recognition event, which will be held in a virtual format, will recognize the heroes who have gone above and beyond, making a difference in the lives of those affected by lung cancer. The Lifetime Achievement award, which honors those who over the long term have made a significant impact and inspiring contributions to a large number of individuals and organization in the lung cancer community, also will be presented.

The 2020 Lung Cancer Heroes winners are:

Carolyn Baggett, RN, is a lung cancer screening program coordinator at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center (BMDACC) in Jacksonville, Florida. Baggett started working at Baptist Medical Center in 2014 as an oncology nurse navigator caring for several stage 4 lung cancer patients and assisting their families. When lung cancer screening was recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in 2013, Baggett was very motivated to develop a program to help find lung cancer at an early stage. In December 2015, the program launched and has grown substantially. As of July 2020, BMDACC has completed almost 10,000 screenings at 10 locations and found 129 lung cancers, of which almost 70% were early stage. For the last two years, Baggett has been an American Lung Association cabinet member, which has helped her to expand this work.
Jennifer L. Garst, M.D., is a thoracic medical oncologist and professor of medicine at Duke Cancer Center Raleigh in North Carolina. As a lung cancer specialist, Garst has provided extraordinary cancer care, and, as a tireless advocate for her patients, she has made significant and lasting contributions to the lung cancer advocacy community. She is the founder and current board chair of the Lung Cancer Initiative (LCI) of North Carolina and was the founding chair of LCI’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Garst has numerous publications, including 42 refereed journals, eight non-refereed, one book chapter and more than 30 published scientific reviews and selected abstracts. She has also received numerous awards, honors and recognitions throughout her career.
Fred R. Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., is executive director of the Center for Thoracic Oncology in The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) at Mount Sinai and the Richard Stein, Joe Lowe and Louis Price Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. As an internationally renowned authority on lung cancer treatment and research for more than 25 years, Hirsch has received several awards and honors, including the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Mary J. Matthews Award for Translational Research in Lung Cancer in 2007 and the Addario Foundation Lectureship Award in 2015. The IASLC also has established an annual Fred R. Hirsch Lectureship Award in Translational Lung Cancer Science. Hirsch’s research has helped identify and validate prognostic markers for lung cancer outcomes and biomarkers for personalized lung cancer therapies that illustrate how these therapies work and who is most likely to benefit from them.
Deborah Pickworth was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2013 when she was 43 and has undergone several treatments and surgical procedures over the last seven years. In between and during treatments, Pickworth has been highly motivated to find better treatment options, better trial protocols and more patient support groups, and to raise money for additional lung cancer research. In 2014, she started Team Pickworth for the annual LUNG FORCE Walk in Detroit, and she has raised more than $17,300 over the past six years. Pickworth founded the Michigan Lung Cancer and BRAF Bombers groups on Facebook, and she is an Imerman Angels mentor. She also is a member of IASLC and the American Lung Association’s Patient Advisory Group.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement award is Bonnie J. Addario, lung cancer survivor, cofounder and board chair of GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. As an activist, advocate and educator, Addario has empowered patients and given them a voice since she received a stage 3B lung cancer diagnosis more than a decade ago. Recognizing the need to provide hope through education, empowerment, advocacy and research for patients and families, Addario and her family founded the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) in 2006. In 2019, ALCF and the Lung Cancer Alliance merged, forming the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, dedicated to saving, extending, and improving the lives of those vulnerable, at risk, and diagnosed with lung cancer. Addario acts as an adviser to industry leaders, clinicians and policy makers, and she is a member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition board.

In addition, Addario founded the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) in 2008 as an international research consortium driving research otherwise not possible. Working with the GO2 Foundation, ALCMI powers collaborative initiatives in genetic (molecular) testing, therapeutic discoveries, targeted treatments and early detection of lung cancer.

"At Takeda, we remain committed to developing effective and personalized medicines for people diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer." said Fatima Scipione, head of Takeda Oncology Patient Advocacy and Engagement. "We’re proud to be the sponsor of the Lung Cancer Heroes program, a collaborative effort with CURE and the patient advocacy community, to honor and recognize the incredible work being done in the lung cancer community to advance research and improve patient outcomes."

The 2020 Lung Cancer Heroes virtual celebration will take place Thursday, Oct. 15, 6-7:30 p.m. EDT, in conjunction with IASLC 2020 North America Conference on Lung Cancer, a worldwide virtual event taking place Oct. 16-17.

For more information on the winners and to register to attend, click here.

This event is supported and partner by Takeda and in partnership with The American Lung Association, GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Foundation of America, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, and LUNGevity.