Pharmacy DailyPharmacy Daily | Ideas take root in an unsympathetic country

IN order to help Australians raise awareness of lung cancer and motivate people with lung disease symptoms to seek diagnosis and early treatment the Australian Lung Foundation last week, held commemorative Tree Planting ceremonies across the country. The events coincided with the release of new international research which found that Australia is one of the least sympathetic countries in the world when it comes to attitudes towards lung cancer. Researchers took into account responses from 16,000 people across 16 countries and found that Aussies were generally unaware that lung cancer is Australia’s biggest cancer killer (responsible for more deaths per annum than breast, ovarian and prostate cancer combined). In addition, over one third of Aussie respondents also indicated that they felt less sympathy for lung cancer sufferers than other cancer patients, given its link to smoking. “It’s important that Australians recognise that lung cancer, like all types of cancer, doesn’t discriminate,” said Prof Matthews Peters, Head of Respiratory Medicine at Concord Hospital Sydney, with lung cancer affecting “men and women, smokers and never smokers, the old and the young.” Prof Peters is pictured planting a tree with lung cancer survivor, Sue McCullough.

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