SPRINGFIELD – Mercy Health – Springfield is holding a “Shine a Light on Lung Cancer” event to help raise awareness surrounding early detection of lung cancer.

Nearly a quarter of the people who die from cancer were diagnosed with lung cancer. In fact, it’s responsible for more deaths in Clark and Champaign counties than any other cancer. The problem is often late diagnosis, with 75% of lung cancer cases being discovered after it’s already reached an advanced stage. The survival rate in Stage 1 is around 80%, but that drops to below 5% when diagnosis comes in stage 4.

To promote early detection, Mercy Health – Springfield is hosting the “Shine a Light on Lung Cancer” event at Cohatch – The Market from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 18. The goal is to provide education and promote awareness, which will include a large inflatable lung to give attendees an up-close look at the dangerous effects lung cancer can have.

Additionally, Mercy Health – Springfield is putting more focus on its own lung care program. In partnership with the Gala of Hope, the health system has received a grant to fund a lung care coordinator position along with new equipment that will help facilitate more accurate biopsies of smaller lesions. Both are part of Mercy Health – Springfield’s commitment to ensure the highest quality of care is available to the greater Springfield community.

“Despite being the number 1 cancer killer in men and women, lung cancer awareness lags far behind. We need to eliminate the stigma and promote early detection with low dose CT screening and prevention to reduce deaths due to lung cancer, because nobody deserves cancer,” said Dr. Soumya Neravetla, Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgeon at Mercy Health – Springfield.

Thursday’s “Shine a Light on Lung Cancer” event will host pharmaceutical representatives, medical device vendors, as well as staff from Mercy Health – Springfield’s Cancer Center to provide information on services and treatments available to patients.