University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and Lung Cancer Alliance
Kentucky LEADS has created a community-engaged collaborative program to promote lung cancer survivorship and improve lung cancer patient outcomes.
Need
Kentucky has the highest lung cancer incidence and mortality rate in the United States. From 2006 to 2010, the death rate from lung cancer was 48% higher in Kentucky than rest of the nation.
Research shows that 30% of lung cancer patients are not referred to an oncologist by their primary care provider and more than 30% of primary care providers are unaware of the benefits of treatment for early and advanced stages of the disease. Almost 80% of lung cancer cases in Kentucky are late-stage diagnoses, leading to low five-year survival rates.
Project
Kentucky LEADS is a statewide comprehensive cancer control coalition that includes the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky and the Lung Cancer Alliance. This initiative is a groundbreaking collaboration to reduce the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky.
The project will focus in three key areas:
- Provider education to improve lung cancer care and survivorship through a continuing education program aimed at primary care providers
- Survivorship care that will deliver comprehensive psychosocial support for patients and caregivers
- A prevention and early detection component that will promote high-quality implementation of lung cancer screening for high-risk patients
Each of the program’s three components will be led by expert academic and community partners.
Project Leaders
Jamie Studts (University of Kentucky), jamie.studts@uky.edu, Connie Sorrell (University of Louisville), clsorr01@louisville.edu and Emily Eyres (Lung cancer Alliance), eeyres@lungcanceralliance.org
Partners
- University of Louisville
- University of Kentucky
- Lung Cancer Alliance