#LCSM Chat Topic 5/3/18: What Defines a “Quality” #LungCancer Treatment Center? Thoughts from the Frontline
Our topic for the #LCSM Tweet Chat on Thursday, May 3rd (5 PM Pacific/8 PM Eastern) is “What Defines a “Quality” #LungCancer Treatment Center? Thoughts from the Frontline.” The moderator for this chat is Dr. David Tom Cooke (@DavidCookeMD).
Recently the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) announced it would cover next-generation sequencing (NGS) for US patients with stage III or IV lung cancer when ordered by a physician and performed in a CLIA-certified laboratory. This decision makes broad genomic testing to available to many more patients. Having increased access to this technology led us to ask what other services and resources should be available at a lung cancer treatment center in order for that center have a “quality” program.
We want to hear how individuals on the front lines of lung cancer—patients, family members and care providers—define a quality lung cancer treatment center. Accreditation programs such as the Commission on Cancer Accreditation and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center Designation have published their definitions. Do you agree with their definitions? Do you know of novel initiatives at your own treatment center that should be included in the definition of quality?
We will use the questions below to guide our discussion during our May 3rd Tweet Chat:
- T1) What screening services and resources should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer? What associated qualifications/approvals should the screening program have?
- T2) What diagnostic services, tests, and resources should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer? Should it have a multidisciplinary tumor board?
- T3) What surgical and radiosurgery services and resources should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer?
- T5) What chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy treatments should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer?
- T6) What communication services and online resources should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer? What should be the role of telemedicine?
- T7) Must a #lungcancer treatment program offer clinical trials (or at least discuss clinical trial options) to be considered a quality program?
- T8) What patient/caregiver and/or survivorship support services should a quality #lungcancer treatment center offer? #LCSM
Please remember to include #LCSM in ALL your tweets so the other chat participants can see them. If you need a refresher, read our primer on participating in the chat . Hope you’ll join us!
#LCSM Chat Topic 04/19/2018: Life & Breath Rally – Lung Cancer is a National Emergency
On Thursday, April 26th, many of us will gather in front of the Capitol Building in Washington DC at the Life and Breath (LAB) Rally. This is a grassroots effort of lung cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates. You can follow the event on twitter at @LABLifeBreath and can read about it at labrally.eventbrite.com
Volunteers from several different lung cancer organizations will come together for the following common causes:
• To increase funding for lung cancer research, specifically through the Department of Defense.
• To encourage support for the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Service Act of 2018.
• To encourage a public service campaign by the Centers for Disease Control to promote lung cancer screening.
As many of us know, lung cancer is the most common cancer killer, taking the lives of over 400 people per day. This is not a political issue, but rather a national emergency. Although lung cancer prevention and smoking cessation campaigns are important, to focus solely on those aspects of the disease perpetuates the myths that lung cancer only affects smokers and that lung cancer risk ends with smoking cessation. In fact, never smokers and patients who have already quit smoking account for approximately three-fourths of all lung cancer patients. Once diagnosed, the 5 year survival rate for lung cancer is only 18%, markedly lower than that of other common cancers. Yet lung cancer research is historically underfunded by the NIH and the Department of Defense. THIS HAS TO CHANGE! With the Life & Breath Rally just around the corner, we will discuss the following in this week’s #LCSM Chat:
T1: What are the details of the @LABlifeBreath Rally? How can people participate if they can’t make it in person?
T2: How can we best advocate for more lung cancer research funding? Which facts should patients and advocates emphasize to their elected officials?
T3: What is the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2018? What is its purpose and how can we get more people behind it?
T4: Why are so few eligible patients screened for lung cancer by LDCT? What can we do to increase rates of lung cancer screening?
T5: Any final thoughts? What else would you like to see emphasized at the Life and Breath Rally next week?
Please join the #LCSM community and moderator @BrendonStilesMD for this important Chat on Thursday, April 19th, at 8 pm Eastern Time (5 pm Pacific). Please remember to include #lcsm in ALL your tweets so the other chat participants can see them. You can read a primer on participating in the chat here.
#LCSM Chat Topic 04/05/2018: Open Mic Nite
On Thursday April 5, 2018, at 8 PM Eastern Daylight Time (5 PM Pacific Daylight Time), #LCSM Chat will hold an Open Mic Nite to talk about whatever lung cancer topics are foremost on our minds. Our moderator will be Janet Freeman-Daily (@JFreemanDaily). This would be a particularly good chat for those who are just starting with Twitter or tweet chats (please check out our tweetchat primer). Hope you’ll join us!
