It's feared prejudice towards lung cancer patients is stifling much needed financial investment into Australia's number one cancer killer.
Lung cancer is estimated to kill more than 9000 Australians in 2018 - 25 per cent of all cancer deaths, yet it receives less than five cents of every cancer research dollar, says Heather Allan, CEO of Lung Foundation Australia.
Ms Allan says the figures show lung cancer research is significantly underfunded relative to its burden on the community, and negative public attitudes and misconceptions is likely to blame.
A national survey late last year exposed a confronting lack of empathy towards people with lung cancer. It showed one in 10 Australians believed lung cancer patients deserved what they got, while more than a third believed they only had themselves to blame.
"What we are seeing is that the level of philanthropic, corporate and government support for research into lung cancer is lagging far behind the support that these sectors will show for other cancers like breast cancer, prostate cancer," said Ms Allan.
"We believe that public attitudes towards those with lung cancer are stifling the amount of research funding for lung cancer," she told AAP.
One of the major misconceptions about lung cancer is that it is solely driven by smoking, said Ms Allan
While smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer, the data shows not all patients are smokers or even ex-smokers.
"One in three women diagnosed with lung cancer will be a 'never smoker' and the majority of people diagnosed with lung cancer now will either be an 'ex-smoker' or a 'never smoker'," Ms Allan said.
Lung Foundation Australia is urging investors to open their wallets to improve lung cancer survival in Australia.
"Those who have lung cancer deserve our empathy and support and deserve funding to drive research that will improve those patient outcomes in the future," said Ms Allan.
The plea coincides with the foundation's announcement of $450,000 in lung cancer research funding at the Australian Lung Cancer Conference in Sydney on Friday.
